Bradley campaign, like others, readies supporters for caucuses
By Amy Paulson/CNN
January 23, 2000
Web posted at: 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT)
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - Behind closed doors Sunday, in a scene repeated elsewhere by other campaigns,
50 Polk County, Iowa precinct leaders for former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley's presidential campaign went through training for Monday's Democratic
presidential caucuses.
The group went over the delegate selection process, reviewed Democratic Party caucus
guidelines and discussed their game plan for Monday night.
The event was both a rally and crash course in caucus know-how. "We want people to feel
confident," said Deb Floyd, a Bradley volunteer from Kentucky. "Some people haven't participated in a
caucus before, and some of their questions are very basic."
Floyd is on a two-month sabbatical from the University of Kentucky to volunteer for Bradley. A
former community college president, Floyd said he ardently supports Bradley
because, she said, "He is a man of integrity. He's coached me to be a leader."
On caucus night, Floyd -- like many other Bradley volunteers -- will be at a caucus site as an
observer. The caucuses are open meetings, so anyone can attend. "I'll welcome the precinct leaders
and be available if there are questions. It can be intimidating," she said of the process.
Connie Schnoebelen is a leader at precinct 86, Jefferson Elementary School in Des Moines. A
lifelong resident of the Hawkeye State, she has participated in a caucus before, and served as a
county convention delegate. "It's been a long time since I've been to a caucus," she said. "I think
they've gotten it down to a science."
More like math. Schnoebelen said that the big issue at the meeting was the delegate "viability
threshold," which the caucus chairperson will determine using a Byzantine series of calculations based
on the number of participants. The Democratic Party recommends that participants bring a pocket
calculator with them, along with plenty of paper and pens.
The short answer is that a candidate must have 15 percent per one delegate. But the key
players in the caucus -- for both Bradley and Gore -- will be the undecideds, because convincing them
to support their candidate could mean another delegate to the county convention in March.
For example, if it is determined there will be one delegate per every five people, the "strategy
would be to go over to the four undecideds," Schnoebelen said. There will be a critical 30-minute
window to persuade them to throw their support behind Bradley.
As a precinct leader, Schnoebelen said she would get to her precinct by 6:30 p.m., assign a
greeter and start up the registration process.
Once the caucus gets under way, about 7 p.m. CT, the first thing the group will do is elect a
permanent chairperson. Next, the chairperson assigns candidate areas -- the Gore camp on one side of
the room, and the Bradley camp on the other -- with the undecideds likely between them.
The caucus has allotted 30 critical minutes for persuading the undecideds to switch to one of the
two candidates. It's here where caucus knowledge can pay off. If a Bradley supporter joins a cluster
of undecideds, it may be enough to count as another delegate.
"For example if there are four undecideds, they told us to go up and join the group as a fifth
then try to persuade them to support Bradley," Schnoebelen said. And if two preference groups are
tied, it all could come down to a coin toss.
The final job of the separate preference groups is to select delegates for the convention. The
delegate selection process over, everyone comes together again and the results are reported to the
Democratic Party county headquarters. Then it's on to the platform discussion and party business.
The campaign is ebullient that the Des Moines Register endorsed Bradley, and is confident that
they can woo undecided voters on caucus night. It's made a great impact," said Ted Pleasance, a
friend of Bradley's from his Oxford days. "We've gotten people to switch already (from Gore)," he
said. Pleasance, who has spent the past week calling voters, is here from England to campaign
for Bradley in both Iowa and New Hampshire. "He's a straight shooter, a quiet thinker," he says of
Bradley. "I would love for everybody to know what an exceptional person he is."
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