Caucus night

I was assigned to photograph the GOP caucus at Viola Gibson Elementary School -- one of the tamer caucuses (due to size, party affiliation, and location -- some caucuses are held in bars, auto shops, private homes, anywhere that's convenient for the precinct).  The GOP caucus is really just a secret ballot, with some speeches by supporters before the vote is taken. One of our other photogs, Jonathan Woods, covered the Johnson County GOP caucus much better than I did Linn County's - click here.




The GOP side was done pretty quick, so I headed downstairs to see what the Democratic ruckus was all about. After the initial dividing up and elimination of nonviable candidates, supporters regroup and recruit new supporters for their candidate. Obama swept, with 96 supporters out of 215, which means they'll be sending three Obama delegates from Monroe Precinct 1 to the next caucus (county? or state?). Richardson's camp split themselves between Biden and Obama, abandoning their own corner of the gym. I knew some of Obama's people would be ecstatic when the final numbers were announced, but wasn't quite prepared... so when I saw this woman cheer, I managed to get one (slightly underexposed) shot before she put her arms back down.