The tens of thousands who will converge on Denver for the Democratic National Convention next week include 78 voting participants from Louisiana, three of whom have ties to the Teche area.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, are two of the state’s 11 super delegates and St. Martin Parish supervisor of continuing education Edmonia Lee-Jackson will be one of the 67 delegates.

All will be casting their votes for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.

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Louisiana is not a “winner take all” state, said state democratic party spokesman Ralph Johnson. This means the numbers of delegates for each candidate still officially in the running — both Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton — will mirror the state’s popular vote, which was 57.4 percent for Obama and 35.6 percent for Clinton.

There are 33 state delegates pledged to Obama and 23 pledged to Clinton attending the convention. Super delegates, though they may have expressed an allegiance, remain un

pledged in official state counts.

So do some delegates.

Johnson said while delegates may have pledged to a particular candidate, it’s still possible they might change their allegiance and vote for the other.  Clinton has said she will release her delegates to vote for Obama.

Obama is the candidate for whom all three local delegates express strong support.

Lee-Jackson, who has been active in the Democratic Party since she became eligible to vote, decided she wanted to support Obama long ago.

“I really believe Obama’s going to bring a change, and I really believe we need a change,” she said. “McCain has a lot of military experience, but he’s so tied to the Bush era ... I might be blind, but I can’t see past that. We’re suffering so much. The economy, health, education — there are so many things that didn’t come to play under the Republican administration.”

Lee-Jackson expressed admiration for Clinton, as well.

“What she did is phenomenal,” she said. “She deserves her spot (at the convention). (Clinton) is going to have her few moments of thunder, but at the end of the night, they’re going to come together. I really think they are. It has to happen.”

The schedule, said Lee-Jackson, is packed with “a whole host of stuff” including events from different interest groups, “green” workshops, an event honoring veterans, canvassing workshops and a day of volunteering in the Denver community.