Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of Snohomish County voters will participate for the first time in the political process that will help decide who will be the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer in this year’s presidential election.
A lot more people than usual are expected to attend the Democratic presidential precinct caucuses set for 10 a.m.-noon Saturday.
At a precinct caucus, people who identify with a political party pick their favorite candidates from among those jockeying for position to win their party’s presidential nomination. On Saturday, state Democrats will weigh in on who they want to face President Bush in November.
For once, the preference caucus participants register on Saturday might actually make a difference, because of the early timing of Washington’s caucuses.
What’s more, the fact that the caucuses will be on a Saturday, the tempo of the national battle, and the excitement being generated by the race make an ideal combination for a record turnout, state Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt said.
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has gathered political momentum going into Tuesday’s primaries and caucuses in seven other states. Kerry has scored wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean already has an early lead in this state. Seventeen superdelegates, or people assured to be delegates to the national convention, including Berendt, already have committed to Dean.
Kerry, on the other hand, is the only candidate with a campaign office in Snohomish County.
Others with active campaigns in the state include former Gen. Wesley Clark and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who plans to be in Everett on Thursday — the only presidential candidate so far who will visit the county.
While there’s competition and drama in the Democratic camp, there’s little suspense associated with the Republican caucuses, scheduled for March 9. There’s no serious opposition to Bush within the party.
Democratic Party leaders say any decision on the party’s presidential nominee will remain up in the air until at least March, and perhaps beyond.
For the first time, the Democrats will meet during the daytime and on a Saturday to pick the delegates who will go on to legislative district conventions and then to congressional district caucuses.
"I’m very excited about it," Berendt said. "We are bringing thousands of new people into the political process. Anytime there’s an infusion of new blood, it brings more energy to your party."
In addition, for the first time, Washington’s selections come "early enough in the process so people have a real opportunity to make their voice count," Berendt added.
In the past, the national party’s nominee often had been decided by the time the state settled on its candidate. Now Washington is one of the largest states to make a choice so early in the process.
And the state has gone its own way in the past. For example, when Bill Clinton was sweeping the nation in 1992, Washington Democrats went for Sen. Paul Tsongas.
"We love the outsider. We’re so far from D.C., we like that maverick persona," Berendt said. "It’s hard to know what people are going to do."
Esther Steinbach, first vice chairwoman of the Snohomish County Democratic Central Committee, said she has been getting a lot of calls from "very enthusiastic people. I think we will see far more people than we’ve seen before."
Washington won’t have a presidential primary this year, and some voters still don’t know that, Steinbach said. She said she’s gotten calls wondering when voters will get their absentee ballots.
Washington started presidential primaries in 1992, but the process has only been a beauty contest as far as Democrats are concerned. Washington Republicans in 2000 picked a quarter of their delegates from the primary, but the Democrats never have done so.
The Legislature last year decided it wasn’t worth spending more than $6 million on a presidential primary that would have no influence on picking delegates.
Many Democrats don’t expect a clear front-runner to emerge at least until March 2, on "Super Tuesday," when California, New York and eight other states register their preferences. Some wonder if the suspense will continue into the spring, or even until the Democratic National Convention in late July in Boston.
Most likely, the Democrats will close ranks before July to settle on who will oppose Bush, said John Gastil, an associate professor in communications at the University of Washington. Gastil studies how people deliberate and talk about political issues — just the kind of thing voters will be doing Saturday at the caucuses.
"It’s all about beating Bush, and the Democrats are singularly focusing on that," Gastil said.
Nonetheless, he’s surprised that nobody’s talking about the possibility of the Democrats going to the national convention with two or more candidates still in the running. After Washington and Michigan hold their caucuses on Saturday, he said he will have a better idea about the chances of that happening.
Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger agrees there could be some political drama in July. He said he couldn’t recall a similarly contested Democratic convention since John F. Kennedy won his party’s nod over Lyndon Johnson in 1960.
Terwilliger agrees that this year’s caucuses are likely to draw record numbers of participants. But he would rather see a primary that the political parties and the courts could stomach, giving more people a chance to participate.
Washington’s blanket primary system — in which none of the candidates were committed to a party and people often crossed party lines — has been declared unconstitutional. It’s up to the Legislature to fix that, and there’s a good chance a presidential primary will be back four years from now, Terwilliger said.
Political managers such as Berendt prefer caucuses as a way of selecting delegates. It’s the way Washington, from its inception, has made its presidential preferences known. And it gives the parties names of people who might be willing to help in campaigns.
Berendt, who has been state Democratic Party chairman for nine years, said the Democrats are using this opportunity of increased interest in the caucuses to build their party at the grass-roots level.
"We’re concentrating on rural counties, where the party is weakest," he said.
The caucus process is mysterious for a lot of people, but this one has generated excitement, said Kevin Price, who teaches political science at the UW. He sees the caucuses from the inside out because he is active in the Clark campaign.
Kerry’s early strong showing and Dean’s support by state party leadership don’t disturb Price, because the campaign has just begun.
"There are too many good candidates for (the nomination race) to come to an early end," he said.
Price said he’s having fun and he views the upcoming caucuses as "hugely important. That’s what sustains us. It’s a great democratic experience."
Herald writer Steve Powell contributed to this report.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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