Old-Time Politics - Minnesota's State Senate District Conventions on Saturday
Minnesota, like a few other states, still has a political party caucus/convention system in place. This Saturday, I'll be at the DFL Senate District 67 convention, acting as one of the three delegates from our DFL precinct, for which I'm the chair. We still use the walking caucus system, an antiquated and potentially complex method of deciding things. The first convention I attended was a little confusing, but I've read a lot since then, and can be found holding a sign somewhere in the convention hall, assembling a caucus. That caucus will select delegates to the next levels of the convention system, including the Congressional District and State Conventions. Usually, I can manage to get a large enough caucus to stay intact through the process, and will be putting myself forward for the CD convention, but can't go to the State Convention this year.
Anyhow, the old caucus and convention system is old-fashioned, to be sure, but it leads to a bunch of people getting to know each other, and those same people will be the ones working hardest during the campaigns, as well. It's old-time politicking. I'll get to have a conversation with each of the candidates at some point, since we'll be voting on endorsements, and I know most of them already.
The bottom line of this old system is that individuals can use that system to get heard and to influence outcomes. There will only be 250-300 people in the convention hall. That's it, and that small number of people will endorse candidates. It's very important in both our state senate and state legislative districts. Failing to get an endorsement at this convention is a death-knell for a candidate, as we discovered in 2012, when the incumbent failed to be endorsed, due to his lukewarm support for labor issues. It's important.
Your state may have a different system in place. It probably does. But there's still a stage in the process where a small group of people makes important decisions. If you're not already involved in your state's Democratic Party, you might want to consider getting involved. You can make a difference.
GOTV 2014 and Beyond!
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