Lisa Ring already knows what she will be doing the last week in July.
The Richmond Hill woman was selected Saturday at the Democratic Party of Georgia’s 1st Congressional District Convention in Jesup as a delegate for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to the Democratic National Convention July 25-28 in Philadelphia.
“I’m happy to be selected, and I can’t wait to get to the convention and be part of shaping the party’s platform and what we stand for,” she said.
Ring was chosen over Vanessa Rivera of Savannah.
“We’re both very similar in devotion to our candidate,” Ring said. “We both had something to offer.”
Based on Georgia’s March 1 presidential primary voting, 1st District Democrats were allotted two male and two female delegates for former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and one female delegate for Sanders.
Ring said delegates to the DNC have to pay their own way, and the cost is estimated at $3,000 to $5,000, so she plans to do some fundraising as well as continuing to revive the Bryan County Democratic Party.
Ring and her husband, John, are active members of the county party and held an organizational meeting on Easter Sunday at the Richmond Hill Library. She said about 14 people turned out and have been eager to work.
“It wasn’t just people who showed up out of curiosity,” she said. “They’ve been working every day.”
Results from the March 1 primary showed 1,413 Democratic ballots cast in Bryan County; there were 5,672 ballots cast on the Republican side.
Clinton delegates selected Saturday were Gwendolyn Waring of Savannah, Beverly Leaphart and Alvin Leaphart of Jesup and Brian Reese of Savannah.
“Saturday was a great turnout on both sides, and the tone was how we can work together to turn Georgia blue,” Ring said. “It was heartwarming.”
Ring said she was hoping for a Sanders win in Tuesday’s New York primary, but was not surprised with the results. Clinton won 58 percent of the Democratic vote in the Empire State.
“He won 50 of the 62 counties, which means he’ll pick up some more delegates due to the proportional system of distribution,” she said. “Even though Sanders is a New York native, Clinton has the advantage of having run and won two senatorial campaigns in New York.”
Ring said she is still energized and looking forward to Tuesday, when five more states, including Pennsylvania will hold their primaries.
“Many delegates will be determined, and we have not even gotten to California, which is also a crucial state,” she said. “We are confident that we will be headed into a contested convention, where I and my fellow Sanders delegates will battle on the convention floor to make Bernie the Democratic nominee for president.”