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Battle for Minnesota Democrats wide open
Related: Presidential candidates on the issues In the wake of New Hampshire's primary the race for Minnesota's Democratic convention delegates is wide open. "A funny thing happened on the way to a coronation. We had an election," quipped Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman at Hillary Clinton's Minneapolis headquarters Wednesday. "I want to thank the voters in New Hampshire for giving the voters in Minnesota a chance to weigh in on who's going to be the next president of the United States of America." Clinton's contingent never counted her out to begin with, despite pundits who'd already pronounced her campaign dead after her loss to Senator Barak Obama in Iowa and his subsequent bounce in New Hampshire's polls. "I think her message of telling the truth and bringing the experience to the job connected well with folks in New Hampshire and will connect well here in Minnesota," House Speaker Margaret Kelliher told political reporters. Across town in a different warehouse building, Obama's volunteers were busy on the phone banks inviting voters to the state's DFL caucuses February 5th. "Sir in that case I would really encourage you to check out my man Barack Obama," college student Andy Dickman could be heard telling a Democrat on the other side of the line. Obama's boosters are hoping to pull off in Minnesota what they did last week in Iowa, mobilizing record turn-out. "We've contacted over 25,000 voters," Obama's state director Chris Miller told the Capitol press corps, "We've held over 60 caucus trainings across the state since the second week of October." Tuesday night's second place finish in New Hampshire did nothing to damper the spirits of his supporters in Minnesota, according to Congresswoman Betty McCollum of Saint Paul, an early Obama backer. "We were so far behind in the polls just a month ago people were writing us off," Rep McCollum remarked, "They said this is a one horse race." Indeed the media and the pundits have been quick to bestow "momentum" to one campaign or another, based on one week in the primary cycle. "Would we've liked to be number one? Sure. Were we pleased we came in as close as we did compared to where we were a month ago? We're very happy with the result, that we came that close." The John Edwards campaign also reported brisk phone bank activity at Carpenter's Hall in Saint Paul, a day after Edwards placed third in New Hampshire. Laura Nevitt of Minnesota for Edwards said the focus is one getting precinct captains in place for the caucuses. Edwards has enjoyed solid support from unions in his quest for the White House, but he doesn't have lock on labor in Minnesota. Wednesday the United Association of Pipefitters and Plumbers endorsed Barack Obama. Tom Hanson, the union's Minnesota president, vowed to deliver the support of Minnesota's 9,000 members. "The country needs a change," Hanson said, "We've heard that time and time again. Working people need a change! Our international believes this is the guy who can get it done." At the same time the state's largest government workers union, the American Federation of County State and Municipal Employees, joined the Clinton camp. "She is smart, she is tough, she is passionate, she's compassionate," Eliot Seide of AFSCME Council 5 declared at the Clinton group's news conference. "And I am very proud on behalf of the 43,000 members of AFCME Council 5 to support Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. It's clear that the battle for Minnesota's 88 delegates to the Democratic convention will be hard fought, with 72 of them being decided on Super Tuesday. The other slots go to so-called super delegates, such as members of Congress. Whether any of the candidates will travel here is another issue, with no campaign able to guarantee an actual appearance in Minnesota before February 5th. There are 22 states in the mix Super Tuesday with more than 2000 delegates up for grabs. California is the largest single prize, but it's only one of six states with larger delegate counts on the line. Some observers suggest Minnesota could rise on that list if Clinton's campaign concedes Illinois to Obama, and Obama decides not to compete in Clinton's home base of New York. That's not likely, given the fact that Illinois and New York both hold proportional primaries on the Democratic side of the ledger. Just the opportunity to win a share of those large states makes it essential for Obama and Clinton to compete on their opponent's own turf.
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