Iowa Democrats in Precinct 38 reflect larger Gore-Bradley contest
By Amy Paulson/CNN
January 25, 2000
Web posted at: 3:51 a.m. EST (0851 GMT)
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- It's caucus night in Iowa and the Democrats are about to get things started at Precinct 38 in Des Moines. Tonight's caucus meeting takes place in the art room at Lincoln Elementary School and the Republicans are just across the hall in the library.
Ellie Philips, Precinct 38's temporary co-chairperson is greeting newcomers. Janice Kent, the caucus secretary, is making sure that each participant is a registered Democrat, and that everyone signs in and fills out the Iowa Democratic Party surveys.
Both women have participated in caucuses before, and they are expecting around 25 people to show up tonight. Based on the turnout from the last election, this precinct has three delegate votes.
Philips said that she was also serving as a precinct leader for Vice President Al Gore. "But I'm voting for Bradley," she says with a laugh. When pressed to explain, she said, "To tell the truth, (the Gore campaign) kept pestering me so much that I got fed up."
The women will serve as temporary leaders of this caucus, until participants vote for permanent chairs to run the meeting. "Almost always the temporary chairs are selected as the permanent ones," Philips noted.
A caucus math worksheet is taped on the blackboard, to help the newcomers understand the arcane process of determining the viability threshold each candidate will need to score a delegate to the Democratic Party's county convention on March 27.
"What we do is divide the number of eligible caucus attendees by six and round up," Philips explained. The formula on the worksheet says that the group's number should be multiplied by three and divided by the total number of attendees to determine viability.
"The tricky part is if we have three viable groups, then they each get a delegate," Philips said.
Precinct 38 is in a lower socio-economic neighborhood and Monday night's group is an equal mix of the young and the elderly, men and women, African-Americans, hispanics and whites. It's the kind of neighborhood where "a lot of families are struggling and they aren't really ready to get involved," according to Ruth Anne Pertak, a retired social worker who is here tonight as a Bradley precinct leader.
But 30 people have arrived. "I'm thrilled to see this many, really," Philips says to the group. "Two years ago it was just me and Marilyn," Philips says, referring to her neighbor Marilyn Bruce.
During the platform issues discussion, the group votes to support campaign finance reform and weapons reduction. But a debate breaks out over a plank to oppose school vouchers. "We've got public schools falling around these kids' feet," argues one woman, who is supports vouchers. But Philips hurries the group along so they can get to the next item: candidate selection.
For this caucus meeting, the viability threshold is five. Pointing to signs around the room, Philips explains the process for newcomers and notes: "If you're less than five, don't worry, there will be time. That's the beauty of the caucus." After she describes the process she says, "Okey doke. Let's move."
The Gore supporters quickly form a large group on one side of the room. Those voting for Bradley, a much smaller group, sit around a cluster of tables. There are only two undecideds, a man and a woman sitting toward the middle of the room.
Bradley supporters immediately approach the undecided voters in an attempt to persuade them to vote for the former New Jersey senator.
Dave Andrews, a Bradley supporter, moves into the thick of the Gore group, trying to convince a few of them to switch. "He knows what he's about," Andrews says of Bradley. "He kind of turned me off," one woman replies. "Didn't have a whole lot of life to him."
Andrews winds up in a lighthearted debate on health care with a Gore supporter, and when the time is called, laughs and says, "I'm looking for some wiggle room," before going back across the room alone.
Both of the undecideds have gone over to the Gore side. The final tally is nine for Bradley, 21 for Gore with no undecideds. This means that Gore will get two delegate votes to Bradley's one -- reflecting nearly perfectly the final margin of 63 percent to 30 percent -- between the two Democratic candidates on caucus night.
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