Kerry and Dean
split caucusThe front-runner floods isle
phone lines with canned pitches
to woo delegates
Despite being dubbed "Obscure Tuesday" by the national press, tonight is the night for Hawaii's Democrats to pick their presidential candidate.
Hawaii's caucus is one of three state gatherings tonight. Democrats in Utah and Idaho are also meeting.
Because the total number of delegates up for grabs tonight is just 61, the trio of contests is something of the Rodney Dangerfield of political caucuses, winning no respect from major candidates.
Until this year, Hawaii had been one of 11 states in the March "Super Tuesday," but party officials changed the date in an attempt to get more national attention for the Democratic caucus.
Alex Santiago, Hawaii party chairman, said he thinks the Democrats accomplished some of their mission, because he has been swamped with media calls in the past two days.
"I've talked to the Washington Post, CBS, CNN, and C-SPAN is waiting," Santiago said. Santiago also pointed to the two visits by candidate Dennis Kucinich.
Also over the weekend, U.S. Sen. John Kerry's national campaign pointed its computer-generated telephone banks toward Hawaii and flooded local residents with canned pitches.
"It does show there is interest in Hawaii," said Joshua Wisch, local coordinator for the Howard Dean campaign.
Hawaii's Democrats come to today's meeting oddly split not between the two leading candidates, Kerry and U.S. Sen. John Edwards, but between Kerry and Dean, who has pulled out of the campaign.
The top two candidates have not even campaigned in Hawaii.
Kucinich sprinted through the state over the weekend and also was here in October as Maui resident and Kucinich supporter Willie Nelson held a concert for the Ohio congressman's presidential campaign.
Kucinich has yet to win a state primary and is not considered to have a chance of winning the nomination.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie is also hoping to keep the Dean organization together long enough tonight to pick up a few delegates. At a news conference yesterday, Abercrombie implored supporters to stay with the campaign, even though Dean has stopped campaigning.
"Just because somebody else looked like they are going to be crossing the finish line ahead of us doesn't mean we will walk off the track," Abercrombie said.
But the three other members of the Hawaii congressional delegation, Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka and Rep. Ed Case, all support Kerry.
Four years ago in Hawaii, Vice President Al Gore won 12 delegates, and former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley garnered two delegates.
This year, Santiago said presidential candidates who get at least 15 percent of the statewide vote tally tonight will get a delegate slot for the national convention this summer. The Democrats will send a total of 29 delegates to the national convention.
That's why Abercrombie wants Democrats to still vote for Dean, because it will allow the local Dean campaign to send delegates to the July convention in Boston.
The Kucinich campaign is also predicting that it will be able to pick up three or four delegate spots.
Santiago said Kerry is also expected to do well because of Inouye's added political muscle.
Kerry also won the endorsement of state Senate President Robert Bunda, who said yesterday he would support Kerry.
"It has been a real grass-roots campaign. Kerry seems to be the statesman the people need in this election," Bunda said.
