Bernie Sanders’ dominating performance in Tuesday’s Utah Democratic Presidential Caucus has many of his supporters putting the pressure on the state’s superdelegates to back the Vermont Senator.
Utah has four superdelegates who are allowed to vote for any presidential candidate they choose, which is different than the “pledged” delegates who are required to vote for a candidate in the first round of voting at the Democratic National Convention this summer in Philadelphia.
Two of Utah’s superdelegates, Rep. Patrice Arent and party vice-chair Breanne Miller, have committed their vote to Clinton. Party chairman Peter Corroon said he would vote for the winner of the Utah Caucus, which was Sanders. National Committeeman Wayne Holland has not yet made it known who he will vote for.
Some of Sanders’ supporters are planning to disrupt the proceedings at the state convention later this month by “shouting down” any superdelegate who speaks in front of the crowd. There will be ample opportunity for that as nearly every superdelegate will make a speech in front of the assembled delegates.
Corroon says he’s heard the same thing about possible demonstrations against the Clinton supporting delegates. He says he’s reached out to that group and hopes to meet with several of them in the next week to work on ways to include them in the process.
“My goal is to talk with them to see how they are going to engage with us at the convention,” says Corroon. “We welcome their participation, and there’s no need for them to disrupt things.”
There is less of a chance that will happen at the Salt Lake County Democratic Convention on April 9. Arent most likely won’t address the convention because she is running unopposed for re-election, which will minimize the chances for any disruptions aimed at her.
Salt Lake County Democratic Chair Claire Collard says she’s aware that there may be demonstrations for Sanders at the convention, but she is also reaching out to the Vermont Senator’s supporters.
“We have a dialogue going. People want to have their voices heard, and we welcome them,” says Collard. “We want everyone to bring their thoughts and ideas.”
In the end, any planned demonstration may be futile as Corroon says he doesn’t see how any way to convince the Clinton supporters to change their vote
“It would be difficult for them to change their vote once they’ve made a commitment to a candidate. The superdelegate process is the process we have right now. My preference would be to see the Sanders supporters work toward changing the process.”
