BRANDON QUESTER/WTE Jim Molett of Cheyenne waves his sign in support of democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama early Saturday morning at the Cheyenne Civic Center for the Laramie County Democratic Caucus. An estimated 2,500 people showed up for the event.

CHEYENNE -- Wyoming Democrats flexed their political muscle today like they haven’t done since the the state’s delegates helped give John F. Kennedy the nomination in 1960.

There were 1,532 ballots cast at Saturday morning’s Laramie County caucus at the Cheyenne Civic Center, and organizers estimated 2,500 showed at the event.

Sen. Barack Obama came away with 61 percent of the votes in Laramie County; Sen. Hillary Clinton got 38 percent. One percent of the votes were disqualified.

In 2004, about 160 people came for the Laramie County caucus, Laramie County Democratic Party communications chair Nicole Novotny said.

This year, organizers adjusted the original estimate of 500 participants to 1,000 recently because of the candidates’ visits to Wyoming and the record turnouts in other states.

But Saturday’s number was something they never could have predicted, said John Millin, the chairman of the state Democratic Party.

While the caucus wasn’t completely without hiccups, Novotny said she was extremely happy with the event and the turn out.

“It would be great to have this type of turnout at some of our local elections,” she added.

That’s another perk that Democrats in the state are hoping for: a greater interest not only in the party but in politics in general.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal made an appearance at the caucus and said the event was “good for the whole state.”

He hopes that it will energize voters to stay active in the political process.

He noted that there has been an increase in registration for the Democratic Party recently (nearly four percent according to the Wyoming Democratic Party Web site), but some of those may just be temporary supporters.

“Of course, I hope they stay Democrat,” Freudenthal said. “But more importantly I hope they stay active.”

Millin hopes for the same result.

“The presidential campaigns may leave (Wyoming), but the Democratic Party will not,” he said to the crowd.

Cheyenne resident Jennifer Hayes said she didn’t vote in the Democratic caucus last time, but because of the closeness of this year’s race she came out.

She said that she knows more about the process now, and “it’s something I’ll be looking for (in the future).”

One speaker pointed out the national media outlets in the auditorium and challenged the participants to show the nation that there are, in fact, Democrats in Wyoming.

The place erupted in cheers and applause, with bouncing “Obama” or “Hillary” signs over people’s heads.

Chants of “O-bam-a” and “Hill-ar-y” broke out.

“Wyoming, this is our 15 minutes (of fame),” Wyoming’s former secretary of state, Kathy Karpen, told them.

Cheyenne resident Randal Lane said he arrived at the Civic Center at 8 a.m. and stood in line for about two hours before finally entering the doors to the building.

“It’s been a fun line,” he said, adding that people were happy and cheerful.

Freudenthal also said he heard some good-natured attempts at swaying the votes of fellow Democrats from people in line.

But not everyone was so jovial. Organizers said they had to try to soothe some people who didn’t expect to spend their entire morning at the caucus.

About 20 others had to cast provisional ballots because they arrived late, and the party rules state that only people in line by 9 a.m. can participate in the caucus.

As of Saturday afternoon, those votes were still “in limbo,” said Novotny.

“We do have to revisit the rules and make sure that we’re following procedure impeccably,” she said.

She added that she didn’t think there were enough provisional ballots to make a difference in the outcome of the caucus.

“We extended (the timeframe) as best we could,” said Novotny. “We’re trying not to turn people away.”

After listening to speeches, participants marked their votes on the ballot they were given as they registered.

They dropped their ballots into American Flag-decorated ballot boxes on their way out of the auditorium.

“This is the best thing that’s ever happened in Cheyenne,” said one participant after casting his vote.

Even several children were at the caucus with their parents.

“My parents showed me that (politics) is important, so I’m trying to show him the same,” Casey Palma said of his 7-year-old son.