FREMONT, Neb. — It was standing room only the other night at the Blue Bottle Coffeehouse. The Dodge County Democrats were meeting for their convention — and there were about 60 of them, up from barely a dozen in 2004.That was enough for outgoing chairman Jim Dake to declare the county's Democratic Party officially revitalized. "The proof is all around you," he said. "We've filled the room."
Early organizing, early advertising and a full slate of candidates for Congress are among the signs of hope for Democrats in this conservative farm state with a streak of prairie populism......
The state was a low priority for the DNC. Of the $731 million the party raised for the 2004 elections, Nebraska got $12,000. "The national Democrats were sucking money and volunteers" out of Nebraska, state party chairman Steve Achelpol says. Adds executive director Barry Rubin, "They called us an 'export state.' "
Times have changed. The DNC is now spending $120,000 a year to pay the salaries of three organizers and a spokesman here. Nationwide, the party has hired and trained about 190 people in 50 states in its $10-million-a-year program. The goal is to create voter lists and activist networks that don't vanish when campaigns are over or powerful Democrats retire.
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Here in Fremont, the Democrats opened a campaign office to help candidates up and down the ticket. "Usually at this stage we're just trying to get a couple of people to parades," activist and attorney Richard Register says. He also says the party usually has to "twist arms" to find delegates to the state convention. At this meeting, volunteers had to be turned away.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-06-13-nebraska_x.htm