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New faces delight Colorado caucus organizers

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 12, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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The 60 folding chairs were occupied Thursday evening, so Republicans stood four and five deep along the back of the community room at the Belmar Center.

"Who has never been to a precinct caucus before?" former Congressman Bob Beauprez wanted to know.

Dozens of voters holding Mitt Romney folders raised their hands.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, co-chairman of Romney's presidential campaign statewide, couldn't have been happier.

"I think it's the best news of all that so many of you have not been to a precinct caucus before because when you show up you're going to be a force to be reckoned with," Suthers said.

"Here's why folks. Let me give you the No. 1 rule of caucus politics: He who shows up wins."

Colorado's precinct caucuses - traditionally shunned by all but the most faithful of party die-hards - are expected to attract hundreds of Republican and Democratic voters who have never participated in the grass-roots political effort.

Colorado and at least 22 other states will participate on Feb. 5 in Super Tuesday. Coloradans attending caucuses will take a "preference poll," indicating which presidential candidates they support.

The idea of a record turnout is hard to fathom for Wes Skiles, a precinct leader in Arapahoe County for several years.

"In 2000 we had three people attend - and I was one of them," he said.

Democrat Carolyn Boller, a state Democratic Party office and a precinct leader in Aurora for years, knows the feeling.

"People are excited this year, but the process of trying to explain to them how this works is another matter. It can be confusing," she said.

Colorado traditionally participated in the presidential selection process in March and often the nominees were already known by then.

Not this time, which is why campaigns are working so feverishly to make sure their candidate wins on Feb. 5.

Caucus participants indicate their preference for president and also elect delegates to various nominating assemblies. Some delegates will make it all the way to the presidential nominating conventions.

That's another reason campaigns want to flood the caucuses with their supporters.

At Democrat Barack Obama's seven offices statewide, volunteers are contacting thousands of voters, encouraging them, their friends and their neighbors to show up. Supporters are being trained on how caucuses work.

The Colorado Hispanic Leadership Council is hosting a caucus event for Democrat Hillary Clinton from 10 to 11 a.m. today at the American GI Forum, 1717 Federal Blvd.

"We will be giving out information on how to be a delegate to your caucus to make a difference in Colorado for Hillary Clinton," said Mannie Rodriguez, a Colorado Democratic National Committee member.

The turnout for the Romney caucus workshop Thursday floored organizers, who had expected maybe 60 people at best after sending out e-mail notices. More than 100 showed up, including Republicans from Larimer and Elbert counties.

Romney's supporters bragged they haven't seen evidence that their GOP rivals have much of a presence in Colorado.

But volunteers for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign stuffed his literature in 326 packets for Jefferson County's GOP central committee on Tuesday. Romney's campaign didn't have any literature in the packets.

"Rudy is by far the strongest Republican candidate against any Democratic nominee for Colorado voters," said Mary Smith, chairwoman of the Denver GOP and Giuliani backer.

Jeffco resident Ron Rizzo, a GOP precinct leader and a district captain, helped prepare those packets for the central committee meeting.

Rizzo at one time flirted with backing Fred Thompson, but believes his campaign fizzled for his late entry into the race.

Now, Rizzo said, it's entirely possible that he won't make up his mind until Feb. 5.

bartels@RockyMountain News.com or 303-954-5327

Feb. 5 precinct caucuses

What is a caucus? A neighborhood meeting where people in the same political party begin that party's nominating process every election year.

Who can participate? Registered voters who have been affiliated with the Republican or Democratic parties since at least Dec. 5.

Can unaffiliated voters participate? Not in Colorado, though other states allow that.

What precinct do I live in? Call your county clerk or look it up at www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/voter Home.do Each voter has a 10-digit number. The last three numbers indicate your precinct number.

Where is my precinct caucus? Check your county party Web site, the state party Web site or call your county party. If the information isn't available now, it should be soon.

What time do the caucuses start? At 7 p.m., but voters are encouraged to show up earlier because their names must be matched against registration lists.

Republican caucuses

* Participants elect a precinct leader to run the meeting.

* They then elect a committee to tally votes.

* Representatives for some presidential candidates may make short speeches.

* Voting varies from precinct to precinct. Some vote by secret ballot, others by a show of hands.

* Results from each precinct are relayed to a county party official and then to the state party, which announces the results.

* Participants also pick delegates and alternates to county assemblies and other assemblies. (In some counties, this vote may precede the presidential preference poll.)

* For more information:

coloradogop.org

Democratic caucuses

* Participants elect a precinct leader to run the meeting.

* Representatives of the presidential candidates may make short speeches.

* A straw poll is taken to determine how much support each candidate has. Candidates must reach a 15 percent threshold. For example, if 100 people show up, a candidate must receive 15 votes to stay in the next round of voting.

* The next round is the actual preference poll itself. Participants who picked candidates who didn't make the cut are allowed to vote for someone still in the running.

* All votes are public. There is no secret ballot at any level in the process.

* The results from each precinct are relayed to a county party official and then to the state party, which announces the results.

* Participants also pick delegates and alternates to county assemblies and other assemblies.

* For more information:

coloradodems.org

Comments

  • January 12, 2008

    7:38 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    JohnSWren writes:

    Good story, but readers here of the Online edition probably won't see it. It's not on the www.rockymountainnews.com front page today, and if a search is made on caucus it doesn't come up. Is this an accident or an editorial comment?

    The Colorado Caucus is a big, big story. If it is given the local coverage it deserves, Colorado has the potential to become a showcase state like Iowa, in my opinion. For more see my post today on www.JohnWren.com