Nancy Swarts

    Stephanie Nantkes laughed when she pointed to Room 2 at the Civic Center Saturday afternoon at the county's first-ever presidential caucus.
     "That's where we were supposed to meet," she said.
     Room 2 holds about 20 people.
     Over 260 showed up to vote.
     Nantkes is the chair of the Seward County Democrats and took the brunt of organizing the first presidential county caucus.
     Although the county has 3,500 registered Democrats, no more than a handful usually shows up for events. But a caucus is a brand new concept that generated excitement around the state, so Nantkes knew she'd have to choose a location that was somewhat flexible.
     A half hour before the Seward caucus was to begin, a line of registered Democrats stretched down the hall of the Civic Center waiting to check in, and a cluster of people registering or changing parties gathered around another table in the entryway.
     Many counties experienced voter overload, but Nantkes merrily directed the Seward voters into the 150-seat auditorium at the west end of the building, where it was standing room only, but where everyone could hear what was going on.
     Once the caucus was in session, the crowd voted to leave the doors open another half hour to accommodate people still waiting in line or trying to find a place to park outside.
     After a few other preliminaries, Clinton and Obama supporters formed groups and decided who would stump for their favorites, agreeing to keep comments short and positive.
     Then for the next half hour, people took turns at the microphone with the KLKN News camera rolling beside them.
     The youngest speaker was 19-year-old Carrie Brauer of Utica, who spoke passionately about ending the war in Iraq so she could sleep at night. She was flanked by her mother Kathryn Brauer and 77-year-old grandmother Caroline Niebling, who also spoke.
     "I am still amazed at the generosity of the people and the kindness they showed towards each other," Nantkes said. "It was heart warming."
     When it was all said and done, 262 people voted, and 54 of them were new to the party. Obama received 142 votes for 53 percent, and Clinton garnered 120 for 45 percent.
     Nantkes said she'll make notes about what to do differently the next time Seward County caucuses, like finding a larger, flatter location than the Civic Center auditorium.
     "We learned several things by the place and the people who came," she said.
     Eric Van Horn, field director for the Nebraska Democratic Party, said although there were some problems around the state, he wasn't worried about Seward's caucus after helping the county practice last month.
     "I was very confident in Stephanie," he said of Nantkes. "She's a great leader."