Many committed Howard Dean supporters are planning to vote for
Dean on Tuesday, despite the fact that he officially dropped out of
the Democratic presidential primary race two weeks ago.
With a huge grassroots campaign and a large amount of monetary
support, Dean was considered the front-runner at the beginning
of the primary. But after a third-place finish in the Jan. 19 Iowa
caucus, Dean was unable to gain the support he needed to win any of
the other states.
But many students involved with Bruins for Dean will cast their
ballots for him in hopes of sending delegates to the Democratic
Nomination Convention to represent Dean’s ideas.
Democratic candidates who have dropped out
““Â including Dean, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt, former
Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark ““
will still have their names on the California ballots.
A delegate for a candidate who has withdrawn can be sent to the
nomination convention if the former candidate is able to get 15
percent of the vote in any electoral district.
Fifth-year theater student and co-president of Bruins for Dean
Cameron King said it is important to still support Dean because the
delegates would express his more liberal ideas.
“We want to make sure the progressive wing of the
Democratic party is represented there so that people realize that
it exists,” King said.
King’s sentiment reflects the mood of hard-core Dean
supporters around the country who have said they will still vote
for the former Vermont governor. A group of sign-carrying Dean
supporters even turned out at the Feb. 26 candidates debate at the
University of Southern California.
Amy Jamison, a graduate student in history and co-president of
Bruins for Dean, said she is voting for Dean because she
doesn’t have a clear preference yet for the two major
remaining candidates, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Sen. John
Edwards (D-N.C.).
“I devoted a year of my life to the Dean campaign, so it
wouldn’t feel right to vote for anyone else in the
primary,” Jamison said.
Ben Sigman, a third-year classics student, said he will not only
vote for Dean in the California primary, but will also cast his
presidential ballot for Dean in November.
Sigman said he was impressed with Dean’s honesty and
leadership abilities, and though he realizes Dean will not win, he
feels it is important to vote for what he believes in.
Sigman also said he would rather see Edwards win over Kerry,
adding that he might vote for Edwards if Dean endorses him.
Though Dean’s campaign for the presidency is over, Dean
has said he would unveil a new grassroots political organization he
plans to launch on March 18.
Though some, like Sigman, are waiting to see what the new
organization will be about, many Dean supporters are already
planning to support it.
King said Bruins for Dean will continue to support Dean’s
grassroots campaign. The group will undergo a name change and focus
more on promoting liberal issues and helping to elect politicians
whose ideas are close to those of Dean.
Second-year political science and Middle Eastern studies student
Jessica Wood is also planning to continue working with the Dean
campaign.
“By continuing his organization, Dean is showing people
that even though he didn’t win, he is still changing
politics,” Wood said. “His movement isn’t
dead.”