Democrat Primary draws larger than expected numbers
By JONATHON DAWE
Staff Writer
Jean Cross wasn’t expecting much to happen on Saturday morning. She had recently publicly lamented that the Democratic party in Butler County was practically on life support, and the weather Saturday morning was cold and windy. But despite the blustery weather, Cross and other volunteers were shocked to see nearly a dozen people ready to vote almost 15 minutes prior to the doors being opened.
“I am so encouraged by the numbers we saw today,” Cross noted. “I really hope this is an indication of the future.”
The Democratic Primary was set for Saturday by the Missouri State Democratic Committee after the law was changed in Missouri to make political parties responsible for their own primaries separately. Cross, who was recently one of the only people trying to organize the Democratic party in Butler County, said she initially hadn’t expected much for the primary.
“There hadn’t been any activity with the Butler County Democrats since 2020,” Cross explained. “And it has been a very deflating feeling. We should at least have enough interest to support our candidates.”
The fears that Cross had diminished almost immediately Saturday morning as it became evident there is still much interest in keeping the Democratic Party going. Many voters who came to the primary visited with poll workers after casting their ballots. While doing so, multiple issues were discussed, and many of the voters echoed the sentiment that they were ready to see changes in the state legislature.
Exit polling at the primary seemed to indicate that most citizens cast their ballots for President Joe Biden in the primary. Additionally, there was a mix of different generations who showed up to vote.
“It’s kind of exciting to see this much interest,” volunteer Chandler Shipp remarked at the primary. “I’m 22, and people in my generation are more interested in all of this than popular media would have you think.”
Cross said she is hopeful that the Butler County Central Democrat Committee will soon have all of its committee seats filled.
“This makes me feel a lot better moving forward into the election,” Cross remarked. “I still wish we had some local candidates running for different offices; but it seems like we’re doing better than I thought we were.”
At one point, volunteer Brenda Schneider had to leave the building to get more copies of ballots.
“We didn’t run out (of ballots), but it looked like we might,” Cross noted. “That’s a good problem to have.”