In June 5-11 issue
By Derek Aaron
Times Journal Reporter

JAMESTOWN - Members of the Russell County Democratic party held their first county Democratic caucus in recent memory last Saturday morning at the Russell County Courthouse.

The caucus was responsible for electing two delegates and one alternate to the Congressional District Caucus and the State Democratic Convention on June 7 to represent Russell County.

Ted Coe and Suzanne Coe were nominated as delegates from the county while Lorraine Jones was nominated as an alternate. Lou Ann Flanagan, the Russell County Democratic Chair, presided over the meeting, which lasted around a half hour.

The delegates at the convention will be responsible for electing those who will serve as part of the Kentucky Democratic Party Delegation to the Democratic National Convention during August 25-28 in Denver.

All county Democrats who were registered to vote in the county as of April 30 of this year were eligible to attend, run, nominate or vote during the county caucus. In all six attendees and Flanagan attended the caucus.

"I have been a Democrat for 30 years and this is the first time we've had to do this (in that amount of time)," Flanagan said. "But I think it is great that we have to do it."

Flanagan said the total Democrat votes in last month's primary election was 1,233.

"Due to that fact, there is only one person that our two delegates and alternate can represent … Hillary," she said.

Flanagan said out of the 1,233, Sen. Barack Obama received 168 votes or 13 percent of the county's Democratic vote while Sen. Hillary Clinton received 1,026 votes in the county. One-time candidate John Edwards and the "uncommitted" choice on the ballot received the remaining few votes.

"For Obama to have received a delegate (from the county) he would have had to received 15 percent of the vote," Flanagan said.

Flanagan was also nominated as the presiding chair for Clinton at the meeting.

After completing the business, the meeting was adjourned.

"I don't know if by this time next week we'll have a nominee or not," Flanagan said. "I believe we're going all the way to the convention."
"It has been interesting and we've been right in the middle of it," she said.