Alternate delegates end political journey early, but its no big deal

SEATTLE -

Once the credentials committee gave their delegate report just before noon here at the 43rd Legislative District caucus, it was win or go home time for the hundreds of alternates seated in the gymnasium bleachers at Garfield High School. Of the large crowd that showed up with only hopes and no guarantees, only a few would be called into the auditorium, "The Price Is Right" style, for a chance to vote on the delegates to the next round, and maybe even to go on themselves.

Elizabeth Root, a Hillary Clinton supporter, was one of the lucky ones.

"Yeah, definitely," she said when asked whether or not she was excited to make the cut. But she was not at the caucus to prolong her status as a delegate, only to guarantee it.

"I came to make sure that we didn't lose any seats," she said, "and I was glad I was here because we would have lost my seat. Now I'm just here to vote for whoever gets to go on for the next level.

Barack Obama supporter Karin Link thought she was for a moment, only to have the privilege taken away because of a mistaken reading of the precincts.

"They called my name and I thought, ‘oh that's great!'" Link recounted. "I went over and I talked to (the organizers) and they said, ‘you're the one we made a mistake on.' I felt a little funny, I feel like somebody should have said well thank you. Up until then I was just resigned to the fact that I was going to be an alternate. "

Still, many of those who were sent home early found pleasure in their dismissal.

"It was exciting to be part of the process," explained Suzanne Long, adding that she was "a little disappointed.

This was especially true among a group of University of Washington college students who were proud Obama supporters.

"It was a good experience, I think, moving on to the next delegate round," said Jeffrey Smith, a neurobiology major originally from Richland.

His friend Trent Tyler, a business administration major who is also from Richland, felt the same way.

"I really just enjoyed being part of the whole process. I'm really excited about Barack's campaign, he said.

Peter Morris, a physics student from South Seattle, thought the whole process "was pretty cool."

"I wasn't disappointed or anything," Morris continued. "It was really cool to see how many people showed up, I mean, the auditorium was packed. People bring their families and that was really nice."