Update, March 27 9:14 a.m.: After we posted this, the Owatonna People's Press covered the race a few hours later. We look at that coverage--which again included no solid delegate counts from either Demmer or Davis--here.[end update]
Over on the events page of Brian Davis's campaign web site, the number of delegates per county Basic Party Operating Unit (BPOU) has been posted, following the date of each local convention:
Number of delegates in parentheses ( )
February 23 - Olmsted (60), Winona (16), Wabasha (9), Dodge (8) and Jackson (5)
February 29 - Cottonwood (5)
March 1 - Mower (12), Freeborn (12), Steele (17), Waseca (8), Brown (12) and Watonwan (4)
March 8 - Houston (9), Fillmore (8), Nicollet (13), Nobles (7), Rock (5) and Pipestone (5)
March 15 - County Conventions: Faribault (7), Martin (10), Blue Earth (22) and Murray (4)
This information caused us to reflect on the contrast in the flow of information to the public between this contest, and those between Democrats seeking their respective party's endorsement in the Second, Third and Sixth congressional districts, where county and senate district conventions have been held.
No delegate counts have been released in the Second, though Steve Sarvi appears to be the clear frontrunner (his remaining opponent doesn't even have a web site that we can find). The Second District DFL Convention will be held on May 3.
In the Third congressional district, Ashwin Madia and Terri Bonoff are duking it out, with James Hovland having suspended his campaign. Joe Bodell at Minnesota Campaign Report has kept a running delegate tally, with Madia taking the lion's share of delegates so far. The MN-01 DFL convention takes place on April 12.
In the Sixth, Elwyn Tinklenberg issued a press release claiming that his delegate count would lead him to a first ballot victory; other claims were made by those who support the Bob Olson campaign. Who will be proven to be more accurate? The Sixth district Democrats will meet on April 26 and the contest will likely be decided then. Our point is that both sides in the hotly contested races in the Third and Sixth are loud about their support among the delegates.
And from the two First District Republicans who face off in three days at the high school in Albert Lea?
Crickets.
No numbers turned up in Chao Xiong's article about the contest in the Star Tribune, and neither Randy Demmer nor Brian Davis has released delegate counts. The meaning of this silence? We're guessing neither candidate has a clear advantage over the other or a sizeable chunk of Saturday's participants have yet to be persuaded. The rules for endorsing haven't been posted, so we're not sure what percentage of the ballot is needed for endorsement.
Or perhaps we are simply hearing the silence of the sacrificial lambs?
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