Alabama Democratic Party officials said they expect the meeting to receive national media coverage and possibly visits by the party's two presidential contenders, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The caucus could be the last major gathering of superdelegates prior to the party's national convention, scheduled for Aug. 25-28 in Denver. Superdelegates are governors, congressmen and other high-ranking party officials who are free to vote independent of their state's primary results. In this year's close election, they ultimately may swing the nomination to Obama or Clinton.
Turnham said the event is expected to draw about 100 participants to the Riverview Plaza Hotel from June 19-21. The southern caucus is one of four regional groups organized by the Democratic National Party. The caucus includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The previous meeting of the southern caucus was in Charlotte, N.C., in the fall.
