By Keighla Schmidt, Staff Writer 

Savage residents turned out in record numbers Tuesday night (Feb. 5) to cast their ballots for presidential nominees, discuss politics and elect delegates.

Between the two parties, over 1,000 Savage citizens cast ballots in the straw poll for their favorite presidential candidate.

Overall, voters from Savage picked nominees that were consistent with Minnesota’s winners. In Savage, Barack Obama garnered 63 percent of the Democratic vote, which was similar to his statewide tally, where he took in 67 percent. For the Republicans, Mitt Romney captured 52 percent of the Republican vote in Savage, higher than the 42 percent statewide.

“It was sheer pandemonium,” said Senate District 35 DFL Chairman Howard Bass. “It was just insane.”

Bass said a record number of Democratic caucus participants showed up – as there were 677 from Savage and over 2,500 in Senate District 35. The previous record was 650 people for the whole district.
For Bass, the high turnout indicates a need for change in the pre-November process in Minnesota.

 “This could prove to be the catalyst for Minnesota ditching the caucus system and switching to a presidential primary route,” he said. “Caucuses just aren’t sufficient, there’s not enough time in an hour and a half to get everything done.”

On the Republican side, turnout was also higher than in previous years.

“I’ve been involved in caucuses for over 10 years and this was the highest I’ve seen since I’ve been doing this,” said Republican Senate District 35 Chairwoman Cindy Whitehair. “Last election we had about a third of the people we had this year.”

While not as highly-attended as the Democratic caucuses, 354 Republicans from Savage and 1,394 from Senate District 35 participated, and some of the precincts ran out of ballots for the presidential straw poll.

Many of the attendees had never been to a caucus.Whitehair said in Precinct 7, Savage’s newest precinct, everyone was a novice. “Everyone in there – all 46 people -- were new caucus attendees,” she said.

As a first-time caucuser, 28-year-old Jason Erdman, went to Prior Lake High School to cast his vote for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. “Everyone was saying ‘McCain has this one wrapped up,’ and I wanted to come and put a vote in for Romney,” Erdman said.

Overall, Erdman said he thought this election was of high importance in many ways and wanted to make sure Republicans stayed in control. “There is more at stake in this election -- the Dems want to push a socialist agenda closer to Marxism than to traditional U.S. values,” he said.

Ashley Mickelson, 24, who had also never attended a caucus, saw things very differently that Erdman.
Identifying with the values of the Democratic Party, Mickelson went to Glendale Elementary to secure a spot for the DFLers. “I really want a Democrat in office. But it’s really hard to choose between the two great nominees,” she said. “Ultimately, the question is ‘Do I want the first woman as president or the first black man as president?’”

Participation in the caucus was her way, she said, of influencing change.

For others, it was an opportunity to learn about the candidates, the political process and discuss ideas.
Seventeen-year-old Alanna McFall will be eligible to vote in November. While she already labels her personal ideals as “socially liberal,” she wanted to come to the caucus to become an active participant in politics and settle on a candidate, as she was teetering between Hillary Clinton and Obama.

“I really don’t think the Republican administration has done what I’m looking for. But, I want to be an informed voter,” McFall said. “As a young voter, I feel we (as young people) have to live in this world, too, and it’s important we get out and vote -- it’s really vital.”

Prior Lake High School students Kristen McCuskey and Chae Alverio, both 18, went back and forth between the Republican and Democratic caucuses and were observing for a class, but also to make sure they were being responsible voters.

“It’s our job as youth of America … to find the best fit by being active, it’s what I need to do,” Alverio said. “It’s pointless to vote for who others tell you to (vote for); you should vote for the person who will best represent you.”

McCuskey said she hoped to make up her mind through the discussions.“I kind of have an idea, I took a quiz online to know which nominee would be the best fit for me, but I want to listen and hear what people have to say,” McCuskey said. “The caucuses really influence people; they can hear what each candidate has to say about issues now.” 

Keighla Schmidt can be reached at kschmidt@swpub.com [2].