Correction Appended
Two ASU students will have front-row seats to witness history this August as delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Lisa Fernandez and Sean Bowie will cast votes to select a Democratic presidential nominee at the convention on Aug. 25 to 28.
The two remaining Democratic candidates would each make history if elected, as Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York would be the first female nominee for president and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois would be the first black nominee.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Fernandez, a political science junior and president of ASU's Young Democrats. "I wanted to run [to be a delegate] because I'm an active member of the party, and I wanted to give it a shot."
Bowie, a political science and history senior and the director of ASU Students for Obama, said his involvement in the Illinois senator's campaign led him to apply to be a delegate.
"I've wanted to go [to the convention] ever since I was a kid, really," Bowie said.
Fernandez and Bowie both said they will cast their votes for Obama at the convention.
In order to be selected as delegates, Fernandez and Bowie had to campaign for the position and give speeches before a panel of precinct committee, who selected voting delegates.
There are no winner-take-all delegate states for the Democrats, so popular vote percentages determine the number of delegates from Arizona who will vote for Obama or Clinton.
Bowie will represent Congressional District 5, ASU's district and the only district in Arizona that Obama won, as Clinton took the state of Arizona by a solid margin.
"I think a lot of that had to do with what we did here at ASU," Bowie said. "I think the work we did here was pretty convincing."
Although Clinton won in Arizona, Obama currently holds a lead going into the convention, but many are questioning what impact superdelegates will have on the nomination.
Superdelegates are delegates who are seated based on the positions they hold in office, and are not pledged to vote for one candidate or another.
Gov. Janet Napolitano, and congressmen Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva are among Arizona's 10 superdelegates.
"They could decide the election if they wanted to," Fernandez said. Still, she said, "If the superdelegates went against [the Democratic Party's will, then] there would be an uproar in the party."
Fernandez and Bowie could change their votes and select Clinton at the convention if they wanted, but both said they take their responsibility to represent the voters seriously.
"They selected Sean and I because they know we are staunch for Obama, and we wouldn't change our vote," Fernandez said.
Fernandez and Bowie know several other Arizona students who will be attending the convention, and they may join the delegates for a road trip to Colorado.
Still, being a delegate is expensive when you add together traveling and hotel costs — Fernandez said she expects to spend $1,500 on the convention.
Both Fernandez and Bowie hope to raise money for the trip so that they don't have to pay out-of-pocket.
"We'll find a way," Bowie said. "It's the convention, so we'll find a way."
Correction: The photo caption incorrectly stated the location of the Democratic National Convention. The convention will be held in Denver.
Reach the reporter at: leigh.munsil@asu.edu.
