Some local Dems not yet in lockstep with Clinton as they head to convention

Republicans aren’t the only ones dealing with a unity issue. Some of the Southern Illinois delegates headed to this week’s Democratic National Convention aren’t exactly sold on Hillary Clinton, the party’s presumptive presidential candidate.

Becky Wuest, who was elected as a Bernie Sanders delegate and works as a marketing director at a small business in Belleville, said she’ll cast a vote in favor of Sanders’ nomination at the convention, which begins Monday in Philadelphia.

“That’s what I was elected to do, so I’m going to do that,” she said.

But if Clinton gets the nomination — which is all but certain — how will Wuest vote in November at the ballot box?

“I’m not 100 percent sure. That’s hard to say,” she said. “You know, third-party is always an option.”

If there’s one unifying force for the Democrats, it’s this: Donald Trump, the GOP nominee.

Steve Brown, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Illinois, has no doubt the party will rally behind Clinton. And Brown, in an interview, made sure to link Trump to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner — who notably skipped the GOP convention and generally has declined to talk about Trump.

“I think it’s inevitable that we’ll come together, especially in Illinois, in part because they’ll look at the disaster that the Trump-Rauner team will bring about here and in the nation. It’s clear that that’s not an acceptable path that people want to take,” Brown said. “You may not like Hillary Clinton or her career, but when you see the opportunity to put Trump in, that’s enough to drive a lot of people into a cold sweat.”

Delegate Cory Douglas of Belknap, which is in Johnson County and the 15th Congressional District, was elected in March as a Sanders delegate. He said he’ll support Clinton if she gets the nomination.

“I’m going to be for the Democrat nominee, whoever that may be,” Douglas said.

But he’s not ready to hand the nomination to Clinton just yet.

“I’m going to be for the Democrat nominee, but we haven’t had the convention yet. We don’t have a nominee yet,” said Douglas, an electrical engineer. “You know that Bernie has not conceded the race, right?”

Dr. Pam Gronemeyer of Glen Carbon, who is attending the convention as a member of the party’s platform committee, is also a Sanders supporter.

“I do believe that Trump is not a good candidate. When I go in the voting booth, I’m certainly not voting for Donald Trump,” Gronemeyer said.

So that means she’ll vote for Clinton in November, right?

“I won’t vote for Trump, for sure,” Gronemeyer said. “That’s all I’ll say.”

Gronemeyer expects that Democrats eventually will rally behind Clinton.

“I think at the end, we’ll all come together, because we know that our goal is to keep pushing. We’ve made the progressive agenda heard,” she said. “The fact is that Bernie Sanders’ message has gotten so many people charged up, and our goal is to keep it going.”

The GOP convention had plenty of drama, with Ted Cruz getting booed during his non-endorsement speech and Melania Trump being accused of lifting passages from a Michelle Obama speech.

Wuest watched the coverage.

“It’s been fairly interesting,” she said. “I don’t know how else to say it, diplomatically.”

She added, “It’s lacking in substance. They’re attacking a candidate and not her ideas. I’m somebody who places value on ideas. I’m also somebody who places value on plans, and I’m not seeing any plans.”

Wuest said there appear to be huge fissures among Republicans.

“I think the Democratic Party will be the more unified party,” she said. “I think there’s some bad blood between the leadership of the Republican Party and their nominee.”

Wuest said Sanders supporters plan to wear matching solidarity T-shirts during the convention.

Gronemeyer predicts that Sanders will give a hearty endorsement of Clinton.

“I don’t know what he’s going to say, but he’s already said he’s going to work in the states for her,” Gronemeyer said.

Brown said Clinton already has been working to brings Sanders supporters into her fold.

“I think Secretary Clinton has moved closer to some of the positions that Senator Sanders took on the campaign — minimum wage and colleges are a couple that stick in my mind. And I think there’s going to be more of that as the campaign goes on,” he said.

Brown said he expects the Democratic convention to be “a week to energize party activists and to showcase the ticket to the nation, for people who don’t follow this stuff day in and day out. That’s who you hope to appeal to. And we hope to compare and contrast what the Democrats are all about, versus what we’ve just seen, which looked like a junior high school variety show, which was not very inspiring.”

Gronemeyer also followed the GOP convention.

“There’s not a whole lot of diversity of people at that convention. It doesn’t represent a slice of America,” she said.

Gronemeyer has been to a Democratic National Convention before, as a member of a group that supports universal healthcare, but not as a delegate inside the convention.

“I’m looking forward to some of the caucuses — meetings about women’s issues, health issues, and they’re having meetings about the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” she said.

Douglas suffered a stroke a few years ago and has multiple sclerosis, so he said he’s interested in hearing about healthcare issues. He said he also would like to lobby for legalization of marijuana.

Wuest, who studied political science in college, said she looks forward to getting a first-hand look at how the convention process works. It will be her first time at a national political convention.

“I’m just so excited about this convention,” Weust said. “I’m expecting to learn a lot about the political process. I’m really thankful that people voted for me and I’m able to go to this. It means a lot.”

Getting there

Douglas, like a number of Sanders delegates, has a GoFundMe page, where he’s trying to raise money to finance his trip. As of Friday he had raised about $1,000 toward his goal of $1,545.

Douglas said the actual cost will end up being higher than that, but the Sanders campaign will be covering part of his trip.

“I was going to pay for it with my credit card, and I didn’t like doing that,” Douglas said.

Sanders delegate Amanda Benefiel of Marshall, which is also in the 15th Congressional District, has a GoFundMe page, too. She had raised about $1,190 as of Friday. Her goal was $1,000.

“As you’ve probably heard, the trip is an expensive one. I’ve secured much less expensive lodging, but will still have travel and transportation costs, not to mention taking the week off work. So, I’m asking for your help,” Benefiel wrote on her page.

Many Sanders delegates also are using BernieBNB — a spin on the Airbnb service — to connect with people who have lodging available. Some Philadelphia hotels reportedly are charging as much as $4,000 per night for a room during the convention.

Gronemeyer said it’s not surprising that a lot of Sanders delegates are looking for assistance.

“The Democratic Party doesn’t pay for your trip,” she said. “A lot of them are younger people, and it’s just hard for them. They just don’t have any spare money.”

Other local delegates

Other metro-east delegates to the Democratic National Convention are:

▪ Former U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, who is a superdelegate pledged to Clinton.

▪ State Sen. James Clayborne, D-Belleville, who is a superdelegate pledged to Clinton.

▪ State Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson, D-East St. Louis, who was elected as a Clinton delegate in the 12th Congressional District.

▪ St. Clair County Assessor Jennifer Gomric-Minton, who was elected as a Clinton delegate in the 12th Congressional district.

None of these delegates could be reached for comment.

In addition, Southwestern Illinois College President Georgia Costello, the wife of the former congressman, is an at-large delegate who is pledged to Clinton.

And Karen Sandefur of Fairview Heights was elected as a Sanders delegate in the 12th Congressional District.

This story was originally published July 23, 2016 at 6:43 AM with the headline "Some local Dems not yet in lockstep with Clinton as they head to convention."