Wyoming Caucus 2008

News of the wyoming Caucus 2008. I don’t like writing too much about politics, but these are news that might interest you so I’m tkaing this report from the Associated Press, all credits got o them:

Sen. Barack Obama took the lead over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in early returns as Democrats deluged caucuses in Wyoming Saturday, straining the ability of party officials to accommodate crowds.

Obama led Clinton 57 percent to 40 percent with 6 of 23 counties reporting as they vied for the next prize in their extraordinarily tight Democratic presidential nomination race.

During the first caucuses of the day, it appeared the state’s Democrats were showing up in record numbers. In 2004, a mere 675 people statewide took part in the caucuses.

Twelve national convention delegates are at stake in 23 county caucuses across the state, a small but critical prize in the close race for the party’s nod. The epic battle between Clinton and Obama has given the state’s Democrats — outnumbered more than 2-to-1 by Republicans — a relevancy they haven’t experienced in a presidential race in nearly 50 years.

Obama was seeking to regain lost momentum days after Clinton’s candidacy was revived by primary victories in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. But Obama has the advantage in Wyoming after prevailing in 12 of the 15 caucuses, which rely on greater campaign organization and voter commitment than primaries. A winner has not been declared in Texas’ caucuses; the state held both last Tuesday.

In Sweetwater County, more than 500 people crowded into a high school auditorium and another 500 were lined up to get inside.

“I’m worried about where we’re going to put them all. But I guess everybody’s got the same problem,” said Joyce Corcoran, a local party official. “So far we’re OK. But man, they keep coming.”

Party officials were struggling with how to handle the overflow crowds. The start of the Converse County caucus was delayed due to long lines.

In Cheyenne, scores of late arrivers were turned away when party officials stopped allowing people to get in line at 11 a.m. EST. A party worker stood at the end of the line with a sign reading, “End of the line. Caucus rules require the voter registration process to be closed at this time.”

Vera Double, 71, said she arrived late because she had a hard time finding parking.

“I’m so proud to see there are this many Democrats showing up in Cheyenne, but I’m very disappointed in the rules because we had difficulty parking and we had a long walk and they closed it off at 9 (a.m. MST),” she said. “I consider it — we’re disenfranchised, which they’ve done in other parts of the country.”

State party spokesman Bill Luckett said they were obligated to follow its rules as well as those of the Democratic National Committee regarding caucus procedures.

“Everybody knew the registration began over an hour before the caucus was called to order. We’ve done everything we could to accommodate people in the long lines,” Luckett said.

In Casper, home of the state party’s headquarters, hundreds were lined up at the site of the Natrona County caucus. The location was a hotel meeting room with a capacity of 500. Some 7,700 registered Democrats live in the county.

“We’ll have to put ‘em in the grass after a while,” said Bob Warburton, a local party official.

About 59,000 registered Democrats are eligible to participate in Wyoming’s caucuses.

A victory in Wyoming would boost the winner going into this Tuesday’s primary in Mississippi, where Obama is again favored because of the state’s significant black population.

Only in the last few weeks have the campaigns stepped up their presence in Wyoming, opening offices and calling voters and sending mailers. The first visit came Thursday, when former President Clinton made three appearances in Wyoming.

The candidates followed on Friday. Clinton held town-hall meetings in Casper and Cheyenne. Obama held a town hall in Casper and a rally in Laramie at the University of Wyoming, counting on support from college students. Obama has been running television and radio ads in the state, while Clinton has been running radio ads.

The state’s top Democrat — Gov. Dave Freudenthal — has declined to endorse either candidate, saying they haven’t talked enough about Western issues. State party chair John Millin is backing Obama, while former Gov. Mike Sullivan has endorsed Clinton.

Before the start of Saturday’s caucuses, Obama held the lead in delegates, 1,571-1,462, but Clinton has the edge with superdelegates — the party officials and elected leaders — 242-210. A total of 2,025 delegates is needed to win the nomination.

Although a win in Wyoming may not persuade many superdelegates, it will be one more prize for the candidates as they make their case for the nomination.

“Both of them will make the point that it’s a trend for them if they win (Wyoming),” said Kenneth Bickers, political science chair at the University of Colorado who is an expert in Western politics.

Wyoming Democrats have relished the attention, harkening back to the 1960 Democratic National Convention when the state’s delegation cast 15 votes that pushed Sen. John F. Kennedy over the top for the nomination.

Associated Press writers Bob Moen in Casper, Matt Joyce and Ben Neary in Cheyenne contributed to this report.

Those were the news on the Wyoming Caucus.

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