Advertisement "There's always mixed emotions because we campaigned hard for Hillary but we campaigned harder to elect a Democrat," said Anne Boley of Madison, a teacher's union steward. "We need to have a strong united front and take back the White House."
Obama, the Illinois senator, is scheduled to accept the Democratic nomination for president Thursday. But he has agreed to a roll call nomination vote on Wednesday, which would allow the more than 1,500 pledged delegates for Clinton to place a symbolic vote for her. Only Obama is expected to receive more than the 2,117.5 delegate votes needed to secure the nomination.
To make sure of a showing of unity at the convention, Clinton has assigned 40 supporters, including Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Heather Colburn, who directed her Wisconsin primary campaign, as "whips" to make sure her pledged delegates don't engage in anti-Obama activities. Clinton is expected to provide additional instructions to her delegates, possibly releasing them to vote for Obama, at a meeting on Wednesday.
Of the 104 Wisconsin delegates attending the convention, 37 are pledged to Clinton.
Long primary battle
Clinton ended her campaign for the presidency in June after a long primary battle with Obama, who would be the first African-American presidential candidate nominated by a major party. Clinton was hoping to be the first woman president.
The former first lady was considered the front runner in the Democratic primary, but Obama's oratory skills, Internet-based and grass roots organizing and prolific fundraising propelled him to get more delegate support than Clinton.
Since Clinton dropped out of the race, however, questions have lingered about what her delegates will do at the convention and whether Obama will be able to win over her supporters.
One Clinton delegate from Waterford, Debra Bartoshevich, has even announced that she will vote for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November. Bartoshevich is scheduled to appear at a press conference in Denver today to discuss her support for McCain.
To capitalize on some Clinton supporters' uncertainty, McCain has launched an ad in battleground states, including Wisconsin, featuring Clinton's unflattering comments from the primary about Obama.
In Madison last week Clinton backers Falk and Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., joined Obama supporters Roberta Gassman, the state Department of Workforce Development secretary, Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, and former Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., at a forum on issues facing women and the economy. One goal was to show unified support for Obama.
But Nancy Marcus, a Madison lawyer who supports Obama, said at the forum she's worried that Clinton supporters aren't going to vote for Obama.
And Paula Rinelli, a retired social security administration worker from Madison who supports Obama after backing Clinton in the primary, said in an interview that some of her friends who support Clinton have told her they won't vote for Obama in November.
"They don't trust him," Rinelli said of her friends.
Baldwin told the crowd that Clinton supporters need to convince others to vote for Obama in the general election over McCain.
"We made a choice but we weren't against anybody," Baldwin told the 50 people in attendance. "It's up to us now to say, Get with it. Look at the alternative.' "
Vote outcome uncertain
At the convention, pledged delegates don't have to vote for the candidate they are pledged to, but Obama's campaign has agreed to a roll call vote that will allow Clinton's delegates to vote for her.
Colburn and Falk said it's unclear exactly how the nomination voting will unfold this week. But Colburn said she expects some pledged Clinton delegates to vote for the New York senator, while others will vote for Obama.
Clinton is scheduled to speak on Tuesday, when she is expected to reiterate her endorsement of Obama and call for unity among Democrats.
"The one thing we're focused on is Hillary Clinton's legacy and doing the right thing," Colburn said.
A handful of Wisconsin's Clinton delegates interviewed last week said while they may use their convention vote for Clinton, they will work to help Obama win the presidency.
"I'm a Democrat first," said Nancy Nusbaum, a Clinton delegate from De Pere. "We went through a process that is all fair and square. I think we're going to leave this convention very unified. You can see the handwriting on the wall."
Other Clinton delegates, including Boley, Shawn Pfaff, a lobbyist, Nabeela Baig, a state legislative aide, and Brett Hulsey, a Dane County supervisor, said they are enthusiastically backing Obama after supporting Clinton in the primary.
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