Iowans in Milwaukee participate in satellite caucus

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Iowans who couldn’t make it home for the caucus Monday, gathered at Marquette University for a first-ever satellite caucus.

It was the only satellite caucus happening in Wisconsin.

“I thought it was great,” said Joseph Martin, a Des Moines resident who was in Milwaukee for work.

Martin didn’t want to miss the chance to take part in the caucus. “The opportunity for me to cast my ballot and have a say in the nomination process,” said Martin.

“Gotta represent Iowa in terms of the first caucus,” said Cooper Warner. Warner is an Iowa resident, but a student at Marquette. “I was really excited 'cause I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to participate,” said Warner.

Just seven took part, but it was in a room full of people watching.

“An unprecedented amount of enthusiasm, I had no idea people would be this excited about it,” said caucus organizer Eric Rorholm.

“Not just people who would be voting in it, but students in the community, faculty members, staff members, people in the Milwaukee community who are very energized and want to come and show solidarity with their candidate,” said Rorholm.

The voting started and ended quickly. Within a minute, three people voted for Elizabeth Warren, two for Bernie Sanders and two for Amy Klobuchar.

The caucus-goers weren’t surprised that it happened quickly. “Honestly, I did because I figured most people made up their minds,” said Warner.

“It was fun, short and sweet so I enjoyed that part of it,” said Martin.

They are seven small votes added to the thousands that took place Monday… but the caucus-goers say it was still important.

This is just the start, those votes translate into county delegates, which will then eventually become state delegates that will be back in Milwaukee for the National Convention this summer.