First-Person: 2008 Kansas Democratic Caucus

The day of the Kansas Democratic Caucus started with snow and ice for much of the state. Judging from the weather, the turn out did not look promising. Kansas is a largely Republican state and generally Democratic events are not well-attended. The last caucus held in the District 24 had an attendance of 31 people. Planners of the District 24 were hopeful that the attendance would be up to 150 people.

In the days leading up to the Kansas Democratic Caucus, the political telephone calls increased. While the calls were frustrating; they did keep the caucus in the back of my mind. After all the hype, I was ready to see the process first hand.

Fast forward to 5 PM; the weather was still not cooperating. The roads were passable, and I was determined to experience the caucus. After a 15 mile drive down interstate and a short detour to drop my son off at a relative's home; I was ready to caucus.

The caucus was being held in a Hageman Education Center, a former elementary school in Salina, Kansas. Joined by two of my sisters, we were amazed at what we saw. Upon reaching the block nearest the school, it became apparent a crowd was descending on the caucus. We parked at a local discount store and joined the crowd hiking through the snow to get in line and wait for the caucus to begin.

The crowd was large and loud, but positive. Two open doors allowed everyone to enter the hallways leading to the caucus area. Soon after arriving, it became obvious that the turn out was much larger than planned. Hallways filled with wall to wall people in heavy coats and snow boats. Confusion set in as the individuals in charge struggled to direct people to the proper check in location. Eventually, I figured out that I needed to get in the A-H line and wait to sign in on the voter registration role. The line was long, so I waited.

My sisters and I somehow became separated in the pandemonium. So to pass the time, I visited with others in line around me. Behind me were a nice couple and a lady that had just been to see Barack Obama in another Kansas community. Next to me was a gentleman who had always registered Republican, but was changing parties to vote Democratic. Ahead of me, a tall gentleman with an impatient look blocked the crowd for me so I could keep my place in line.

Finally, I reached the coveted sign-in table. After waiting nearly an hour, it took less than a minute to sign the roster and move to the caucus area. As promised, there was an area of supporters for Hillary Clinton and an area for Barack Obama supporters. When I entered, I joined the sizeable crowd of Barack Obama supporters. The Hillary Clinton supporters were loudly chanting, but they were easily out numbered two to one. Good natured ribbing went back and forth between the Clinton and the Obama sides of the room.

As the crowd continued to pour into the small overheated gymnasium, the section of Obama supporters continued to grow. Eventually annex rooms were added to accommodate the crowd. Finally, after waiting for nearly two hours, over 600 people had waited in line and signed the voter registration roster. The crowd was ready to caucus!

The actual caucus part of the evening was pretty boring after all of the chanting, networking and laughing that had gone on up to this point. People in charge (though I don't know they were) cleared yet another room, so numbers of supporters for each candidate could be tallied.

First to leave the gym were the extremely small group of Kucinich supporters, as well as the undecided voters. Next, Hillary Clinton supporters made their way out of the crowded gym as those in charge counted noses. Then the crowd of Obama loyalists streamed out for their turn to be counted. The undecided voters and Kucinich supporters were given a chance to throw their support to another candidate. After some shuffling, counts were completed again.

At the end of this maddening evening was the awarding of the delegates. Out of 9 delegates possible to be awarded, Barack Obama received 7 delegates and Hillary Clinton received 2 delegates. A smaller crowd stuck around to elect the 7 delegates and 7 alternate delegates that would represent the crowd at the Kansas Democratic Convention in May. Because my sister wanted to be a delegate, we stayed to finish the process.

Another two rounds of balloting had my eyes crossing. My sister clutched her prize of alternate delegate and we were done. Caucus over; time to go home. I dug my car out from under the inches of snow that had fallen while I was taking part in the political process. I picked up my son and headed down Interstate-70 through the blowing snow hoping others enjoyed the caucus as much as I had.