Democratic National Convention

Check back next week to view my Convention Sketchpads from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton addresses the Kentucky delegation at the Democratic National Convention: Politicker PhotoDENVER – U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) met with diehard delegates from Kentucky this afternoon shortly before heading to Invesco Field to hear the nomination acceptance speech of her party’s presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) “Well, you’ve survived,” said Clinton the thirty-plus Kentuckians gathered around her at Denver’s Brown Palace hotel.

The Kentucky delegation still gave Clinton 22 of its 60 votes during a roll call yesterday, even after alleged “arm-twisting” from some Obama supporters.

But it was other races that Clinton spoke to the Kentuckians about during their private meeting – those races that may impact her as she continues her work in the U.S. Senate..

“How’s the Senate race going?” Clinton asked, referencing the contest between Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford and incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville).

DENVER - Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo (D-Hazard) endorsed the presidential bid of the eventual Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), before Kentucky's primary and when Obama was shown trailing significantly in polls of the state's voters - and by even larger margins in the eastern Kentucky area home to Mongiardo.

Mongiardo, in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, said he felt the heat after his decision.

"There was a huge amount of negative feedback by a lot of passionate Clinton supporters," Mongiardo told PolitickerKY.com today.

DENVER – A narrow loss to U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning in the 2004 election means Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo (D-Hazard) is keeping an eye on the 2010 race, when Bunning is next up for re-election.

“Obviously when the 2010 race comes up, that’s something that, because I ran for that seat 4 years ago, I have a natural interest in because of the competitor in me,” said Mongiardo.

However, Mongiardo qualified his interest by saying he wanted to pursue elected offices that allowed him to make the biggest impact on a key issue for him – health care.

“My focus has been mostly on that,” said Mongiardo. “I am going to stay focused on health care and I am going to work as hard as I can to fix and solve our health care problem in this country. If that path keeps me in the lieutenant governor’s office, and I can complete my job there, then I am done with that. If that path takes me to another position or I have to go to another position to move that issue forward, then I am going to do that as well.”

DENVER—U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) Kentucky campaign chair Jerry Lundergan said there are “lot of hurt feelings” among Clinton delegates to the Democratic National Convention after some supporters of presidential nominee Barack Obama (D-Ill.) pushed them to change their votes in yesterday’s roll call vote.

“The arm-twisting to get that vote – a lot of people are hurt. There are a lot of hurt feelings,” said Lundergan, who previously served as the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party. “The people that were trying to get everyone to change from Clinton to Obama I think had good intentions. I don’t think those people who were trying to get those vote switched between breakfast and lunchtime realized how deep emotionally the Clinton people are about Hillary Clinton.”

The roll call vote in Kentucky’s delegation went to Obama, by a vote of 36 to 24 – a significant difference from the 40 to 20 delegate advantage Clinton had going into the convention after her 35-point primary win in Kentucky.
Still, 40 percent of the Commonwealth’s delegates went to Clinton.

“I was elected by the people of the 4th District to represent Hillary Clinton and that’s what I did,” said Tyler Murphy, a Clinton delegate from Flatwoods. “I slept soundly last night because I did that.”

DENVER -- Political conventions are not only a place where presidential candidates are nominated, but also where future candidacies for candidates up and down the ballot may be formed.

Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) addressed speculation about his own future while in Denver for the Democratic National Convention as a delegate.

He is a rumored 2010 candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Southgate).

When asked if he was thinking about seeking other offices, Conway said others were pushing him in that direction, though he sounded a note of commitment to his current position.

“My supporters encourage me to do that,” said Conway of seeking higher office. “One thing I have learned in this game is that it’s nice to have people talking about you, but I’ve been the attorney general now for 8 months and I’m loving the job.”

DENVER -- Clinton delegates from among the Kentuckians at the Democratic National Convention were invited to meet with their favored candidate this afternoon, on the eve of the acceptance speech of their party's nominee, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.

The New York Senator is having a reception specifically for Kentucky Clinton supporters at her downtown Denver hotel today.

In yesterday's roll call vote on the floor of the DNC, Kentucky gave 36 votes to Obama and 22 to Clinton, meaning 40 percent of the delegation stuck with Clinton.

Going into the convention, Kentucky's delegation was officially comprised of 40 Clinton and 20 Obama delegates.

Delegates say Clinton is meeting with Kentuckians as a show of gratitude for their support of her campaign.

DENVER -- Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) offered a little bit of speculation about who may be filling a cabinet position in a Barack Obama (D-Ill.) administration.

While in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, Conway attended a reception with his Democratic counterparts from around the country. There, he said he spoke with a friend and fellow Obama supporter, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

“If Obama is elected president [Miller] may very well become the next attorney general in the United States,” said Conway. “He is a 4 term AG from Iowa and was the first statewide elected official to endorse Obama in the Iowa caucus, so he is very well connected to the Obama campaign.”

DENVER – Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) is attending his first Democratic National Convention as a delegate this year, though he was previously at the three previous conventions in different capacities.

“I think this one is the best,” Conway told PolitickerKY.com. “There is an energy here that was missing at some previous conventions.”

Conway is making the convention rounds as an Obama delegate, but he said that discussion among those he meets at events often turns to Kentucky’s Senate race between Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) and incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville).

At a reception earlier in the week, Conway said even Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wanted information on Lunsford’s bid.

“Everyone is asking me about Bruce Lusnford’s race,” said Conway. “Chuck Schumer, the Senator from New York, grabbed me by the arm and said ‘tell me about that Lunsford race.’ He was very interested in it. A lot of people focus on Bruce’s race.”

Schumer had earlier encouraged Lunsford to jump in the Democratic senate primary.