Delegates at this moment are filling the Mayo Civic Center this moment after a wet night in Rochester. The rain lifted in time for the Ron Paul supporters to gather for a speech by Rep. Paul at 7:30 this morning. I am absolutely no expert on estimating crowds, but I think 200-300 is a fair guess to the number there, of which a fair number were the curious rather than the Paul supporters. Even one who was there, my frequent commenter and fellow blogger bleak, was there both as favoring Paul over McCain but cautious of some of the supporters' behavior. This picture isn't taken with a wide lens, so don't judge from this alone.

UPDATE: This is a little video of the crowd, pre-speech.

State organizer Marianne Stebbins said what she wanted was a fair convention and discussed the rules as "needing to be followed". Barb Davis White, candidate for the U.S. House in CD 5, spoke to a very supportive crowd, then Rep. Paul gave a largely upbeat, encouraging speech that focused mostly on thanking his supporters and on the larger battle. If the lookers-on came to hear some bombthrowing, I think they were disappointed.

For coverage of the speech, see Bill Salisbury's report. The convention starts in a few minutes, and I will post during the day as significant news occurs.

Labels: Minnesota, politics