The results of California’s first early primary are in, and as for the democrats, it’s a close race, echoing the results of the rest of the nation. As of Wednesday morning, Sen. Hillary Clinton currently has the most delegates at 845 but is followed close behind by Sen. Barack Obama with 765. Two thousand and twenty-five delegates are needed in order to be nominated.
According to Candi Easter, chairman of the Kern Democratic Party and the Region 8 Director of the California Democratic Party, it’s too early to tell. “Twenty percent of the delegates are uncommitted, so they can say they are for someone but they can change,” said Easter. “They are never committed until the actual vote.”
“I think Hillary’s out in front but there’s a long way to go,” said Easter.
Easter believes that it’s a strong possibility that the nominee will be decided at the Democratic National Convention.
Regardless of who is actually nominated, Easter will support that nominee 100 percent. She believes it’s more important to get a democrat in the White House and she hopes that the entire party will pull together.
“I think it’s imperative that we elect a democrat. In fact, all eight of our candidates that we had at the beginning, any one of them would have made a great president.”
President of the Democratic Women of Kern, Imelda Ceja-Butkiewicz, is excited by Clinton’s victory in California. A strong supporter of Clinton, she believes that Clinton is the prime democratic candidate for the presidency.
“In the long run, I will support either one, but to me, Hillary is the more experienced one. She has the knowledge. She’s not all talk. I think she’s the one that will get us back to where we should be,” said Ceja-Butkiewicz.
“We need a president who can run the government and manage the economy, and Hillary is the one that can make that happen.”
Both Easter and Ceja-Butkiewicz agree that the economy is a key issue right now with democrats, though Easter said that both Obama and Clinton are “really close” on the issue.
“I feel that once we have a democratic president and a democratic congress, then, I think, the economy would move forward,” said Easter. “The stock market is always higher with a democratic president.
“I think the policies for the Bush administration has been an absolute failure.”
Easter also cited healthcare and the war in Iraq as other key issues where the Democratic Party is concerned. She said that she thinks both frontrunners want to bring American troops home and end the war in Iraq.
Ceja-Butkiewicz said that because Clinton “took over California” that she expects the rest of the nation to follow suit.
“I think the Californian people have spoken. They want a president who listens to our voices, our values and our dreams.”