Post Caucus Musings from Nevada

Going into yesterday’s caucus, we all knew there were going to be a lot of issues in play: housing; the economy; the Iraq war; health care. Even the issue of whether candidates should be seen anywhere near the floors of our various casinos was mentioned.

I arrived at my local Democratic caucus site early, and it was like a pep rally outside. Clinton supporters and Obama supporters were out in force, and loud about it. Planned Parenthood representatives were also on hand. When the doors opened, we made an orderly stampede to sign in to the three precincts that were to caucus at that location. Everyone continued being loud — complete with campaign chants — once seated indoors. It was almost an hour later before everyone was signed in. Another clear sign that turnout was far greater than expected: only 100 ballots were sent for our precinct, but over 150 voters showed up. Many were first time caucus participants; at least one was a lifetime Republican, supporting a Democratic candidate for the first time ever.

One of the critical differences between a caucus and a primary is the way delegates are apportioned. In my precinct, for example, Mr. Edwards had 11 supporters show up, but would have needed 23 supporters to rate even a single delegate. Some of these 11 left, others cast their lot with Obama or Clinton. Clearly, Edwards would have done much better in a primary. These differences are also how Mr. Obama came to have one more delegate than Mrs. Clinton at the end of the day despite having “fewer votes”.

It is very important to remember that at this point, the primary/caucus season is not over; Mrs. Clinton has just over 10% of the delegates needed to secure the nomination, and there is still a Vice-Presidential candidate to be considered. More critical primaries are on the horizon.