Tuesday night’s Democratic Caucus in Marshall saw record attendance, as upwards of 100 people gathered in the Adult Community Center to discuss the future of the party and its platform.
“This was the largest caucus attendance I have ever seen,” said Lyon County Democratic Farmer Labor Party Chair Anita Gaul. “It was beyond my wildest expectations.”
All members of the party who live in Lyon County were invited to attend the caucus in Marshall and meet with others from their precinct to discuss resolutions to the party’s platform.
Resolutions that were passed through each precinct group will be voted on at the Lyon County convention on Saturday, March 14. From there, only 20 resolutions can be passed on to the state DFL for consideration.
These resolutions will then be debated and voted on, with approval resulting in resolution ideas becoming included in the party’s platform. Legislators often use their party’s platform as a litmus test for what issues are important to voters; local caucuses are a way for people to make their voices heard about what issues matter most to them, something rural voters often say can be difficult.
Resolutions can be proposed by any caucus attendee, and are almost always prepared and submitted beforehand. About 60 resolutions proposed by party members were proposed and approved by the precincts. Many of the resolutions involved improving access to education and healthcare.
Jeet Sausen, of Marshall, proposed numerous resolutions. Sausen’s prepared resolutions included infrastructure support for Minnesota State campuses, fully-funded higher education, bargaining protection for labor unions and improved access to healthcare.
“Minnesotans should not face excessive healthcare costs,” Sausen said to other members of her precinct while reading her resolution form. “Affordable healthcare allows for healthy families.” The resolution was unanimously approved within the group and will be up for consideration at the county convention next month.
While precinct meetings were the largest item on the agenda, caucus elections were also held, and straw polls for the congressional, senate, and gubernatorial races were conducted.
Keith Ellison (Minnesota Attorney General) and Steve Simon (Minnesota Secretary of State), are running unopposed, but there are four candidates for the state auditor position.
Sitting U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was the clear favorite as the DFL gubernatorial candidate, but the congressional and senate votes were much more split. Peggy Flanagan and Angie Craig are the two DFL candidates currently running for Tina Smith’s senate seat, and Erik Osberg and Heather Keeler are both running for Congressional District 7. The seat is currently occupied by Republican Michelle Fischbach, who is running for reelection this year as well.
Gaul said the large turnout for the evening indicates that people are motivated to make a difference within the party.
“We try to keep things as informal as possible, so it isn’t so intimidating (to attend),” she said. “People are angry, people want to get involved. People want to see a change.”
