Winning North Dakota

Last night, Howard Dean spoke before a crowd of 825 supporters in Fargo, North Dakota.  This event is notable for several reasons:

1. Because of strong leads in Iowa and New Hampshire, Dean can afford to campaign now in later primary and caucus states.
2. This high turnout of supporters mirrors the enthusiasm Dean has received in places like Idaho, Arizona, and Oklahoma, belying dismissals that Dean's appeal would never be more than regional.
3. These 825 supporters represent 38% of the total turnout for North Dakota's Democratic caucus in 2000.

Wow--38%!  I'm thinking that has to be a record (albeit a fairly unusual one).   It had been a common assumption around dKos that North Dakota was one of the February 3 states less likely to go for Dean.  Gephardt, Clark, and Edwards have all been cited more often as possible winners there.  But if last night's appearance shows anything, it's the power of grassroots organization in a "small pond."  North Dakota, with its three solidly red electoral votes and a caucus format, is just about the smallest pond imaginable for Democratic presidential candidates.  Why go so far out of the way to stump in a state you can't win?  Yet as I've witnessed here in Virginia, Democrats are starving for some action, and the result in North Dakota now seems likely to be a huge victory for Dean in a caucus with record-setting turnout.

We can only hope for a similar result nationwide next November.