A week and a half after President Joe Biden locked up enough delegates to clinch his party’s nomination for the November 2024 election, Democrats in Greene County and around Missouri voted in the state’s party-run primary.
While filling in a blank on a paper ballot is a familiar process for many voters, the setup for this year’s presidential primary was a little different. The Missouri General Assembly voted to end funding for the presidential preference primary in 2022, leaving it up to the state’s political parties to nominate presidential candidates. Missouri Republicans selected their party’s nominee through caucuses on March 2.
Just less than 400 voters cast their ballots at Teamsters Union Hall in Springfield on Saturday, March 23, to make their voices heard in a largely uncontested primary. Voters also got to meet a handful of Springfield's Democratic candidates, peruse pamphlets and political buttons and learn how to get involved with the Greene County Democratic Party.
Biden leads big in preliminary results, final tally expected next week
Biden became the presumptive nominee with a primary victory in Georgia on March 12, where he won all of the state’s delegates to give him more than the 1,968 needed to win the nomination.
In addition to Biden, voters could choose between Stephen Lyons, Armando Perez-Serrato, Marriane Williamson, Jason Michael Palmer and Dean Phillips — who has since suspended his campaign — or select “Uncommitted.”
Despite knowing the primary has effectively been decided, voter Barbara Bentkowski said, “it’s about the right to vote,” and suggested the elimination of the state-run primary was a means to erode that right.
“We need to vote whenever the opportunity presents itself,” Bentkowski said.
Preliminary results of the mail-in portion of the primary show Biden leading with 90.75% of the vote and “Uncommitted” with at 7.3%, the Missouri Democratic Party announced in a news release Saturday night, with 63% of the votes counted. Nearly 20,000 voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary either by mail or in-person, according to the party.
While Biden is expected to win the Missouri primary, the announcement of a final tally could be days away. Votes will be counted in St. Louis by March 25, and the results will be announced by March 28, according to the Missouri Democratic Party.
Young voters ‘Uncommitted' in Greene County primary
Voicing frustration with their choices for a Democratic nominee, several young voters selected “Uncommitted” in Saturday’s primary.
Though Biden won the Michigan primary with more than 80% of the vote, the “Uncommitted” campaign garnered enough votes — more than 100,000 — to win two Democratic delegates. While not necessarily indicative of the general election, a sizable share of the protest vote in some primaries poses a challenge for the president.
In voting “Uncommitted,” Irene Huff, 19, and Khloe Joint, 20, want to “see something different.”
“Even if we know what the result is probably going to be, it still is important to use our power to vote, use the voice that we do have,” Joint said.
Alyssa Roney, 19, also voted “Uncommitted” out of dissatisfaction with the Democratic candidates, despite Biden being a lock for the nomination.
“It is still important to exercise our civil duty of voting and letting our voice be heard, regardless if that is not the main voice,” Roney said.
In votes for Biden, voters vary on why
While disappointed in the lack of competitiveness in the Democratic primary, first-time voter Verity Gerhold, 19, voted for Biden.
“I think that, sadly, he's probably the best alternative right now,” Gerhold said.
Gordon Donnalley, 46, also voted for Biden because, out of all of the Democratic candidates, he believes Biden has “the best chance of winning in the end.”
Ashley Cossins, running to represent Missouri House District 131, similarly voted for Biden, “because he is the clear frontrunner for the Democratic Party.”
Mike Hamra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Missouri, was more enthusiastic in his support for Biden, expressing confidence in the economy and trust in the president’s vision that he thinks will “help support the country but also support Missourians.”
“Coming out for this process and making sure that I'm here is to put a stamp of support around the President of the United States for reelection,” Hamra said.
Cossins and Hamra were joined by a handful of other Democratic candidates, including Missi Hesketh, the mayor of Forsyth, running to represent Missouri’s 7th Congressional District in Congress; State Rep. Stephanie Hein, running for reelection in House District 136; Derrick Nowlin, running in the 133rd; and Bryce Lockwood, vying to represent the 137th.
In addition to being a part of the electoral process, the primary was also an opportunity for candidates to have some face-to-face communication with voters, Hesketh said.
“There's never an event too small or too low turnout for me to go to,” Nowlin agreed.
Primary sets stage for Democratic caucuses, conventions
Of Missouri’s 70 delegates, 14 are allocated based on the statewide vote, eight are pledged “Party Leaders and Elected Officials,” six are “Automatic Party Leader and Elected Official” delegates and the remaining 42 are divided between the state’s eight congressional districts.
Democrats will hold county-level caucuses by April 18 to begin the process of selecting delegates for the Democratic National Convention, slated for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
District-level delegates will be selected by May 9, party leader and elected official delegates will be selected by May 18, and at-large delegates will be decided at the Missouri Democratic Party State Convention in Jefferson City by June 22.
