J. Jacob Edel
Mercer Island Reporter

About 200 Islanders attended the Republican caucus at Islander Middle School, eventually sending 65 percent of their delegates in support of GOP candidate Sen. John McCain.

For the entire 41st Legislative District, which includes Mercer Island and parts of Renton and Bellevue, 194 delegates were awarded to McCain (39 percent). Mike Huckabee followed with 86 delegates, or 17 percent. Not far behind Huckabee was Ron Paul, who received 83 delegates. The 41st district has 494 delegates from 187 precincts, 46 of which are on Mercer Island. According to Island resident and Chairman of the King County GOP, Lori Sotelo, the Island elected 110 delegates on Saturday.

“The room was packed,” Sotelo said of the number of Island participants. “For many, they were happy they were part of the process.”

Last Saturday’s results were not the first time when Islanders showed their support for McCain. The support for the Arizona senator was reminiscent of Sotelo’s memory of the 2000 presidential campaign.

“My recollection of the 2000 campaign was that almost all the caucuses were held at private homes, but there was a huge turnout and much was attributed to McCain,” Sotelo said. McCain later won the state’s primary that year.

For City Councilmember Mike Cero, it was the first caucus he had attended.

“I found the experience very pleasant and rewarding as an active participant,” Cero said.

Most Island Republicans felt the same way, Sotelo said.

“The consensus I received was that it was very rewarding for the voters,” she said. “We had at least one from every [Island] precinct.”