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March 8, 2000
Bush leads in state Republican straw poll Politics at thegrass-roots levelBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- Beginning the first step toward the presidential election in November, Republicans turned out Tuesday night at precinct caucuses to support their choice for president. "This is truly a grass-roots effort in the election process," precinct caucus leader Bob Fuller said. Approximately 35 people gathered in the cafeteria at Jefferson Elementary School to elect delegates to the county convention and to show their support for the three major GOP candidates. "The important thing to remember is to vote your heart and your conscience, not just vote on who you think has the best chance of winning," Independent Congressional candidate Ben Thompson of New Ulm said. "There are lots of important issues that need to be considered this election year." Thompson was there to push support for Alan Keyes. There were 11 precincts represented at Jefferson, with a total of 100 possible delegates and alternates to represent the precincts at the Brown County Convention, which will be held March 25 in Springfield. The total number of delegates are determined by the population of the precincts. Following the county convention is the April 29 Second Congressional District Convention in Chaska. "The precincts not represented here tonight will not have any representation at the county convention," precinct caucus assistant Jacque Fuller said. "It's their loss, though. That's why we encourage participation." There has been a push in recent years to get rid of the precinct caucuses, but they are an important part of the process, because it helps get more people involved in politics and allows their voice to be heard, she said. A letter from Rep. James Clark of Springfield expressed his thanks to those in attendance, stating that the goal of the Legislature this year is to get Minnesota out of the top 10 states for taxes by passing a tax cut across the board. Sen. Dennis Frederickson of New Ulm took advantage of the caucus to announce his intention to seek reelection. "The caucus is for you to tell us what we should be doing," he said. "This is where it starts. This is where we listen." This year's election is an important one, because not only is the entire Legislature up for reelection, but it will also be crucial when the census results redraw the political map of the state, Frederickson said. "We need to maintain our control of the House, we would like to control the Senate, but we have a long way to go for that," he said. "We need to do our part no matter how the map is redrawn." The population is shifting in Minnesota as more and more people leave rural areas and as the suburbs expand. It is predicted that there will be 14 extra seats in the suburban area when the map is redrawn, he said. "Brown County is pretty stable overall, population wise," he said. "How the map is redrawn depends a lot on who is in control in St. Paul." Boundaries are determined, under federal and state law, by population figures gathered every 10 years. In Brown County, with 25 of 32 precincts reporting, George W. Bush is the preferred Republican candidate, receiving 74 percent of the votes; McCain received 16 percent and Keyes received 9 percent. Results of the presidential preference straw poll (in percentages) are: * Renville County (37 precincts), Bush 77; Keyes 14; McCain 9. * Redwood County (43 precincts), Bush 72; Keyes 14; McCain 14. * Sibley County (24 precincts), Bush 76; Keyes 12; McCain 12. * Nicollet County (25 of 31 precincts), Bush 55; Keyes 27; McCain 17. Democrats will be holding their precinct meetings in Hanska, New Ulm, Springfield and Sleepy Eye at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by the County DFL Convention at Jefferson Elementary in New Ulm at 1 p.m. In Nicollet County, the meeting will be held 9 p.m. Saturday at the Armory in St. Peter.
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