Record Number of Californians Running for Democratic Delegate Positions for Clinton and Obama

By Frank D. Russo

With the Wednesday April 2 deadline to file to run to be an Obama or Clinton delegate to the Democratic National Convention still a week away, a record number of Californians have already applied. On Sunday, April 13 at 3 p.m., each of the two remaining Democratic candidates for President will hold caucuses in Congressional Districts throughout the state and elect 241 delegates. There is a later election of “At-Large” delegates, and of course a number of “super delegates,” but this is the way most of California’s delegates will be elected.

According to Bob Mulholland, campaign adviser for the California Democratic Party, well over 2350 people have already applied to run.

Mulholland was excited. He exclaimed yesterday when I saw him in Sacramento: “Only 241 slots! This is a record. It’s unbelievable, the interest and people in California who want to be a delegate to the national convention. We’re overwhelmed with all the paperwork.”

He noted, “Before we had 1200 to 1300 or so—and that was when we had all the candidates holding caucuses. This is the first time we are holding the caucuses after the primary. So we’re only having caucuses for the two candidates that count—the ones that won.”

We’ve seen record turnout in our primary election and a jump in Democratic registration in California. This is a continuation of the trend, and the level of interest in being a Democratic delegate is not unique to California. According to Mulholland, “It’s big and it’s happening all over the country. You will see in some districts there are 50 some candidates for Obama or Hillary even though they each get perhaps 3 delegates in that district. This is more interest than an Assembly race.”

The numbers of delegates allocated for Clinton or Obama per Congressional District are posted on the California Democratic Party website.

You can also view there the names of candidates who have applied to become delegates by Congressional District and by Clinton or Obama.

For information on how to become a delegate, see our previously published article or go to the California Democratic Party site.

Don’t wait til the last minute—5 p.m. on April 2 to apply. If you are interested, make sure you do it right and do it now.

We’ll have another article about attending the caucuses—which should be festive and exciting-- later with information about locations.

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