Western Slope Democratic Party officers say the youth-vote passion for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to roil county and congressional district conventions in the mountains even as the Dems head into the statewide assembly Saturday, April 16, in Loveland.

Joy Harrison, first vice chair of the Eagle County Democratic Party, told The Colorado Statesman that she and party chair Jane Lowery —both backers of Hillary Clinton in the heated presidential nomination race — narrowly made it through the selection process.

“We had a somewhat competitive county convention and assembly, and Jane and I were running the meeting essentially, and when the preference poll was taken to allocate our delegates, it was pretty chaotic, so we ourselves just barely got slots,” said Harrison, who was named a delegate to the 3rd Congressional District convention Friday, April 15, in Loveland. Lowery was named a delegate to the state assembly.

Harrison said voters in the relatively youthful rural ski county along the I-70 corridor turned out in a big way for Sanders at caucuses on Super Tuesday, March 1, when 978 people showed up and annihilated the county’s 2008 Obama-driven record of 460. Voters backed Sanders 64 to 35 percent on Super Tuesday and that increased to 66-34 at the March 19 Eagle County convention.

“The Bernie Sanders campaign did a good job of making sure all of their delegates that they earned showed up from caucus to assembly, and I think that’s their strategy statewide, to make sure that everybody and anybody who actually earned a delegate spot actually claimed that spot at the higher assembly,” Harrison said.

Summit County Democratic Party chair Beverly Breakstone was a delegate to the 2nd Congressional District assembly, which took place April 2 in Fort Collins, and will also be a delegate to the state assembly in Loveland, where she’s campaigning to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention July 25 in Philadelphia.

Breakstone supports Clinton but is not bound to the former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state, per Democratic Party rules. Last week in Fort Collins, Breakstone said Sanders’ backers tried to derail the nomination of current CD2 U.S. Rep. and Clinton-backer Jared Polis.

“Jared was ultimately nominated, but there was I would say a loosely organized effort to suspend the rules and try and nominate an opponent to Jared,” Breakstone said. “There was a definite interest in disrupting the proceedings on the straight nomination of Congressman Polis. It was only based on the fact that Polis has come out as a supporter of Hillary Clinton.”

Breakstone said record numbers also showed up for the Summit County caucus in March, with 698 people producing a 52-to-48-percent win for Sanders. Huge numbers (by Summit standards) again turned out for the county assembly, delivering a much wider 65-35 victory for Sanders.

At last week’s assembly for CD2, a sprawling congressional district that stretches from Fort Collins though Polis’s hometown of Boulder and on up into the mountains around Vail, seven delegates to the DNC were named, with four for Sanders and three for Clinton.

CD3, another massive district that includes most of the Western Slope and Pueblo on the Front Range, will pick a Democrat to take on incumbent Republican Scott Tipton of Cortez. Former Snowmass Democratic state Sen. Gail Schwartz recently filed to take on Eagle veterinarian Steve Sheldon.

“Gail has great name recognition and will do well, and Steve’s got a little larger hurdle to have people find out and learn about him,” Harrison said of Schwartz, who left office in the state Senate District 5 due to term limits and was replaced by Vail Democrat Kerry Donovan.

The CD3 assembly will pick six delegates to the DNC. The state’s seven U.S. congressional districts name a combined 43 of the overall 79 delegates Colorado Dems send to Philadelphia in July.

“It’s insanely competitive,” said Harrison, who is not in the running. Breakstone, who is, wouldn’t reveal her specific strategy for getting the nod.

“You have to do things that make you stand out a little more,” she said. “I’ll try a few strategies coming up. So many people want to go this time and there are just all these people for the same amount of slots that there always are, but there are about three times the number of people. It’s a big year.”

Breakstone is concerned that all the Sanders supporters won’t turn out in force for Clinton if their man doesn’t win the nomination.

“If a Bernie supporter is completely discouraged by Hillary should she get the nomination and they choose not to vote, what that’s going to do is impact the down-ballot people dramatically,” Breakstone said. “We’re talking commissioner races, our state Senate district, our House district — all those people would be very impacted by people deciding not to vote.”

If roles were reversed, Breakstone is confident party establishment would back Sanders to the hilt.

“I believe that Hillary people, should Bernie get the nomination, would continue to work hard just to get Democrats elected,” she said. “I’m not understanding the difference, because for some reason the big picture is obvious to the Hillary people whereas the Bernie campaign is attracting so many young people who don’t get the greater political impact and consequences of just being passionate about one person.”

— davido@realvail.com