Even split among five candidates at CCHS caucus, with Buttigieg on top

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

No big winners, no big losers.

The Iowa Democratic Caucus site in the Charles City High School gym Monday was a pretty even split.

Iowa Democrats gathered Monday to kick off the process of choosing a nominee to face Republican incumbent Donald Trump in the 2020 election in November, and if caucus-goers at the high school site were any indication, no one candidate stands out above the rest.

A total of 97 Democrats showed up for the precinct at the CCHS gym, one of several Democratic caucus sites in the county.

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg ended up with a slight edge, garnering 22 votes, while former Vice-President Joe Biden received 21, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar received 20, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders received 18 and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren received 16.

Nine voters were originally in the camp of tech executive Andrew Yang, but that wasn’t enough for the 15% required group viability, so those nine had to choose other candidates — and they split up pretty evenly as well. None of the other candidates in the Democratic race had any support at the high school site.

Dave Schmidtke, a retired educator from Charles City, said he and his wife, Collete — also a retired educator — were happy and a little surprised by the support for Klobuchar.

“I was really very pleased with the turnout for Amy,” he said. “We came in with Amy in mind — with her Midwestern values — and we feel strongly about the way she was able to stand her ground in the debates. I think she will be a good candidate versus Trump.”

Schmidtke said he first became involved in the Iowa Caucus during the 2016 election.

“I’m relatively new to the caucus, this is just my second one,” he said. “My wife has been a little bit more active that I have been. I really enjoyed it. I think it’s a good process, and I really enjoy meeting and talking with a lot of like-minded people.”

“I’ve always been concerned about the state of the country, but even more so now,” Schmidtke said. “This is a very important election, as most people know, and you need to be active if you want to make a difference.”

The high school caucus site is allowed 14 county delegates to the Floyd County Democratic Convention, which will be held on Saturday, March 21. They will be split among the candidates — Buttigieg, Biden, Klobuchar and Sanders each will have three representatives, while Warren will have two.

Other Democratic Caucus sites in Floyd County Monday were at the Floyd Community Center, RRMR High School, Central Springs Middle School and the Bohle Community Center in Marble Rock.

Nate Kobilka and Joselyn Dykes were high school freshman social studies students from Hudson, Wisconsin, at the CCHS caucus site to observe and report for a class.

“It seems a little chaotic. There’s a lot going on,” said Dykes. “I learned a lot, though, about some of the different candidates that I didn’t know a lot about, so that was cool.”

Dykes said they were interviewing people and learning why they were there, who they were voting for and what issues mattered to them for an AP government class project. They also had students at Charles City’s Republican Caucus, held at Washington Elementary School.

“The people here have been really nice,” said Koblika.