Jan. 24, 2000

Bradley's supporters express enthusiasm
with his showing in the Iowa caucuses

By Jeff Cobble
CyberCaucus 2000 News Service
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa — Bill Bradley received close to 35 percent of the Democratic vote in the Iowa Caucuses on Monday night, and his supporters expressed enthusiasm for the future of his campaign.

With 97.89 percent of the precincts reporting, Bradley's 34.91 percent was well behind Vice President Al Gore's 63.43 percent, but Bradley's supporters said he made a strong showing.

"He did awesome," said Marta Anderson, a Drake University student who volunteered in September to work on Bradley's campaign. "He surpassed expectations."

Anderson said Bradley had established some momentum that would continue to build.

"He's going to win in New Hampshire, and it's going to keep on going," she said.

Bradley seemed upbeat as he spoke to a large crowd at the Hotel Fort Des Moines after most of the results had been reported.

Running for president "requires a mixture of humility and confidence," Bradley said. "Humility is because you're only one person, and you're running for the most powerful office in the world. Confidence is because you have to know that you can lead this country in a world that's still dangerous. Tonight, I have a bit more humility but no less confidence that I can win and do the job."

Bradley thanked his supporters for their commitment to his campaign.

"Considering where we started, we have done extraordinarily well. We've brought so many people into the caucus. So many young people are out there today... In the college precincts, we won big."

Bradley's supporters said the former New Jersey senator has an appeal to young people that other candidates don't have.

Luke McFarland, a student at Truman State University in Missouri, said Bradley gets apporximately 90 percent of the vote in polls of Democrats on campus.

"He really strikes a chord with us," McFarland said.

Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., also said Bradley was good with young people. He said he thought Bradley made a strong showing.

"Bill did quite well," he said in an interview. Bradley is going to New Hampshire, and "He's got a fighting chance up there as well," Kerrey said.

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack also was at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. He said he will wait until after the caucuses to endorse a candidate.

"My job was to build this party back up," Vilsack said. "The expectation is that we have a good turnout of Democrats so that we may show the rest of the nation that we take this seriously."

Some supporters spoke of Bradley's ability to attract those who otherwise might not vote. McFarland compared Bradley's campaign to that of Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who was able to attract eligible voters who might not have participated in the election had Ventura not been running. Bradley has been going after independents and voters who don't strictly follow the party line, McFarland said.

Scott Marron, a Bradley supporter from Des Moines, said a lot of people voted against the establishment. He said that in his precinct — Des Moines 46 — Bradley received seven delegates and Gore received four.

"I think Bradley captured the politics of the imagination tonight," Marron said. "Despite not having institutionalized support, he got people to come out and vote for him."

"Bradley is running an insurgent campaign," said Miranda Thorman, a volunteer from California. "He built something out of nothing."

After the results were in, Thorman said she was excited about Bradley's prospects.

"We can only go up from here," she said. "I hope that we win New Hampshire. I'm working to get out the college vote.... Our generation can do something big."

Before Bradley spoke, Kerrey addressed the crowd.

"There's something going on in Iowa," he said. "The people are becoming enthusiastic about a different kind of political leader."

"I'm trying to do politics in a different way," Bradley said. "At this time of unprecedented prosperity, this is the time we should be fixing our roof — because the sun is shining.

"It's a long season. I've been knocked on the hardwood before and left standing. And what I've learned from those lessons is that you reach back to those values you learned a long time ago. Values like courage, respect and resilience. And then you set your sights on the next game and the next victory," Bradley said. "Tonight is not an ending. It's a beginning."