Clinton increases share of Iowa’s national convention delegation

DES MOINES - Iowa Democrats solidified their support for Hillary Clinton as their presidential nominee, but questions remained after their state convention Saturday whether and how quickly Bernie Sanders' supporters join her campaign.

Clinton, who picked up 10 state convention delegates at the all-day meeting that drew more than 1,500 Democratic activists, and will go to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia with the support of 29 of the state party's 51 national convention delegates.

She defeated Sanders 49.9 percent to 49.6 percent in the Iowa precinct caucuses, but when the convention was over had 56 percent of the national convention delegates to 44 percent for the Vermont senator, who will have 21 Iowa delegates at the national convention.

In addition to electing the national convention slate and filling party posts, the convention delegates were expected to debate a platform that called for, among other things, making farm polluters pay for environmental clean-ups, local control over siting livestock facilities, expanding the bottle bill and funding the Iowa Water and Land Legacy, investing in underperforming schools, Pell grants for inmates taking college courses, tuition-free college, removing gender from driver's licenses and voter registration, a nationwide gun ownership database, comprehensive immigration reform and a single-payer health care system.

Unresolved, however, is whether the party will be united going into the general election against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.

'I hope we come out of here with a sense of unity,” said Danny Homan, a party vice president and president of AFSCME Iowa Council 61. 'I believe we have a presumptive nominee … and I'm hoping after today we can unite because we have to stop Donald Trump.”

That should be enough to bring the two sides together, Sue Dvorsky, a former state party chairwoman from Coralville said.

'I know many of the people in this room and I know what they care about at base and I do believe that being on different campaigns does not mean we are on different sides,” Dvorsky said.

She doubts anyone who is backing Sanders because of his position on a living wage, social justice and the environment will either sit out the election or vote for Trump -- 'somebody who claims he doesn't believe in climate change as a theory and thinks the current minimum wage is too high.”

Mike Carberry of Iowa City, who was a candidate for the Democratic National Committee, thinks his most of fellow Sanders supporters will back Clinton, but it might take a while.

'For the Sanders supporters who have been through the wars before, they will understand they have to back the blue, get behind the winner,” he said. 'So the party veterans will come across.”

Carberry also believes that the thousands of Iowans Sanders brought into the process will back Clinton 'if he tells them to stay in the process and change it.”

'It's never been about Bernie. It's about the issues,” he said, 'So I don't think you'll find many Bernie people who will vote for Trump. What does he have to offer?”

Phouty Keopraseuth of Des Moines predicted that for those 'super-committed” Sanders supporters, it will be hard to get on the Clinton bandwagon.

'Clinton expects Sanders and the rest of us to fall in line, but she's not reaching out, meeting us halfway,” he said. 'Sanders supporters feel isolated.”

On the other hand, Keopraseuth said, 'I don't want to risk America under a fascist president.”

Former Sen. Tom Harkin recognized the unity challenge, telling delegates in a message from Galway, Ireland, where he was attending a disability rights conference that he plans to 'work hard to bring Bernie on board.”

By the Numbers

Democratic state convention

1,285 credentialed delegates

714 Hillary Clinton delegates (55.55 percent)

571 Bernie Sanders delegates (44.43 percent)

51 national convention delegates

20 Clinton delegates

18 Sanders delegates

7 super delegates - six Clinton, one neutral

6 PLEO (pledged leaders/elected officials) - three Clinton, three Sanders

Overall breakdown: 29 Clinton, 21 Sanders, one neutral