2020 County Convention

Gallatin County Democratic Delegate Selection

This year, for the first time and in light of COVID-19, our Gallatin County Democratic Delegate Selection Convention was held online via Zoom on: Wednesday, June 3 at 6:00 pm

In 2020, the presidential candidates on the Montana Primary Ballot are: 

Any presidential candidate who receives at least 15% of the vote in Gallatin County on June 2, 2020, will receive delegates at the Gallatin County Convention and at the Montana Democratic Delegate Selection Convention to be held on June 6, 2020. See the Gallatin Primary Election Results below.
“The Democratic Party is an equal opportunity organization, and as such we encourage all minority voting groups to actively participate in our conventions and run for the position of delegate, including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders, women, members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+) Community, people with disabilities and youth.”

Gallatin Primary Election Results 

Recorded June 3, 2020, at 12:00 pm

Total votes in Gallatin County for Democratic Presidential Candidates: 19,437

  • Joe Biden – 13,638 votes – 70%
  • Bernie Sanders – 3,572 votes – 18%
  • Elizabeth Warren – 1,878 votes – 10%
  • Other – 349 votes – 2%

Delegate distribution for Presidential Candidates who received at least 15% of total vote:

  • Joe Biden – 21 delegates
    • Received 79% of the votes cast between Biden & Sanders
  • Bernie Sanders – 5 delegates
    • Received 21% of the votes cast between Biden & Sanders

 

Please note, Democrats do not need to be County Delegates to run for a position as a National Delegate at the Montana Delegate Selection Committee. National Delegates are responsible for their own travel costs associated with traveling to and attending the National Convention. To attend on your own you must complete a form which can be obtained by emailing Pat Simmons

Convention Details and Information

Click on each question below to learn more about the process in place for this convention. If you have any additional questions, please contact Pat Simmons, Convention Chair.

Gallatin County has 26 delegates and 26 alternates that will be divided by the percentage that each Presidential candidate receives (at least 15%) of the total Gallatin County votes for President. The primary election results will be received on the morning of our convention, June 3, and were posted above along with the calculation of number of delegates per candidate. 

When you submit your Democratic Affirmation Statement, you must select a presidential candidate to support. Only the presidential candidates who receive at least 15% of the vote in Gallatin County can have delegates selected at the county convention. Each candidate who meets this threshold will then receive a Caucus at our convention, during which the delegates will be selected. (You may submit an updated statement if your first candidate does not meet the 15% threshold.)

This will be the first time a county convention will be held online. We will do the best we can in organizing and executing this convention. With that in mind, please remember we are human. Technology does not always work the way we expect. We will do our best to navigate and address any technical issues that may arise, and we thank you for your patience and understanding should the unexpected happen.

Once we receive your completed Democratic Affirmation Statement, we will email you the Zoom meeting information for the convention.

Check-in for the convention began at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. The convention was officially called to order at 6:00 pm by Elizabeth Marum, Chair. 

After instructions are given, we dispersed all participants into the appropriate Caucus Breakout session, within Zoom.

Once the delegates and alternates were voted on in each Caucus, everyone returned to the main Zoom room to share the results and confirm the next steps for elected delegates.

Each prospective delegate in each Caucus gave a 1-minute speech on why they wanted to be a delegate for that candidate. Once the speeches were completed, a voice vote was called (this is not a secret ballot process per the Montana Democratic Party). Each participant was called on to state the names of the prospective delegates they are voting for.

A volunteer recorder  shared a spreadsheet with the prospective delegate names and recorded each participant’s vote on the spreadsheet for everyone in the Caucus. This was visible to everyone in the Caucus.

The prospective delegates who received the most votes will then became the designated delegates for the Montana Delegate Selection Convention held on June 6, 2020. Alternates were also selected, in the event that the first delegate(s) could no longer participate in the state convention.

Here are the winning Delegates for Biden: Anne Millbrooke, Brian Globerman, Bruce Barnhart, Cara Wilder, Elizabeth Marum, Pat Simmons, John Backes, Jerilyn Lessley

Here are the winning Delegates for Sanders: Julia Thiebes, Hilary Parker, Seth Mangini, Samantha Beebout, Ty Gardner. Alternates are: Jan Strout, Carson Taylor, Julia Shaida, Yvonne Rudman, Garrison Choitz

Assuming that each of the following candidates receive at least 15% of the vote, the following people will be the Caucus Managers:

If you have questions about a specific caucus, please contact the Caucus Manager.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Pat Simmons.

All delegates and alternates were emailed the National Convention Delegate Statement of Candidacy after our convention. These statements were completed and submitted by Pat Simmons on Friday, June 5, 2020, at 12:00 Noon to the Montana Democratic Party.

The Montana Delegate Selection Convention was held on Saturday, June 6, 2020, starting at 9:00 am online via Zoom and lasted all day. There was a meeting of all participants to open the convention, where it was announced the number of delegates allowed for Biden and Sanders for the Eastern and Western Districts. Sanders did not make the threshold of 15% in the Eastern District, nor Statewide. The Eastern District for Biden selected 3 men and 3 women to be National Delegates. Gallatin County was fortunate for Cara Wilder to win one of those delegate positions. The Western District elected its Biden and Sanders Delegates.

The next Zoom event was election of two women Legislators for the Party Leader Elected Officials positions. Finally Zoom events were held to elect At-Large Delegates and At-Large Alternates. Automatic “Super Delegates” are U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Governor Steve Bullock, Party Chairwoman Robyn Driscoll, Party Vice Chairman Max Croes, National Committman Jorge Quintana, and National Committeewoman Mary Moe. Montana has 25 Delegates and 2 Alternates, divide equally by Males and Females. The full Convention ended at 6:30 pm.

Questions? 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the county convention committee members: