Local delegates still favor Clinton

The Churchill County Democrats seated 71 delegates at their annual county convention on Saturday at the senior center.

“We were expecting a bigger turnout,” said Nyla Howell, chairwoman of the Churchill County Central Democrat Committee.

Of the 71 local delegates, 38 are Hillary Clinton supporters, while 33 favor Bernie Sanders. Statewide, though the gap between Clinton and Sanders narrowed. After the February caucus, Hillary led the Vermont senator, 20-15, but because some of her delegates did not show up to their respective county conventions and Sanders did, the total tightened to 18 to 17 pending no last-minute changes on the state level.

Howell said the state convention should be interesting with the tight margin between the two presidential candidates.

“The crucial thing is can the Sanders’ camp get their delegates to attend state,” she said.

Because the state convention will be held in Las Vegas later this spring, Howell said that could be a plus for Sanders because most of his delegates are from southern Nevada.

In addition to selecting candidate delegates, Howell said 18 Churchill County delegates will attend the state convention, while 42 members were chosen to be on the Churchill County Democrat Central Committee for 2016-2017.

Howell said the Churchill County Senior Center hosted the one-day county convention. She added the central committee and delegates were appreciative of the assistance from the center’s staff and the provided lunch.