Area Democrats hold annual fall festival at SEMO

Around 80 Democratic supporters and candidates from throughout the region gathered Saturday night at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau for the central committee's annual fall festival.

Committee treasurer Dr. Rick Althaus said the festival is a time to celebrate the party's purpose and build enthusiasm for the coming election.

The event, which included a dinner and silent auction, is also a fund raiser for the party. Members of the university's student Democratic Party also attended. Althaus said the organization has three times more members this year than in any of his 25 years at Southeast.

This year's guest speaker for the event was former Missouri governor and lieutenant governor Roger Wilson, who is also chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party.

Wilson said the local committee does a wonderful job managing headquarters and contacting voters.

"I wanted to come down and thank them for that," Wilson said. "This is also a time when we encourage the biggest voter turnout as possible on Election Day."

Wilson's speech included comments on the presidential race, Missouri's gubernatorial race and the race for lieutenant governor, which pits Republican Peter Kinder against Democrat Bekki Cook, both of Cape Girardeau.

"Cape Girardeau has a very unique situation," Wilson said. "You don't always have two statewide candidates running for the same office."

Wilson said he expects Cape Girardeau County to have one of the highest voter turnout rates in the state because of that race.

cclark@semissourian.com

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