AUBURN — Liz Henry was suddenly all by herself — the last undecided Democrat in Auburn’s Ward 2 — watching her three like-minded compatriots be lured off to join the Bernie herd at the Democratic caucus held at Auburn Middle School. 

“But I’m still undecided!” Henry said. “I still have questions, and I thought was going to come here and find specific platform issues and where each candidate stands. I still haven’t been swayed either way.”

Henry wasn’t alone, but she was in the obvious minority.

More than 500 city Democrats came to the school to cast their vote for the party’s presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Most walked in wearing their choices on pins, T-shirts and stickers.

Sanders claimed a victory in Auburn, with 352 votes and 39 delegates to the state Democratic Party’s Convention in May. Clinton had 216 votes and claimed 21 delegates from Auburn.

“I like how Bernie cares,” said Ansaar Mohamed, 22. “He has compassion for people and the situation that they are in, and I don’t really see that in Hillary Clinton.”

Nicole Cummings, 30, of Damy Drive in Auburn, said she likes Sanders, too. But she cast her vote for Clinton.

“I don’t think he has a solid chance of enacting anything,” she said. “Congress is a bit of a slow mover and I don’t think they’d let him enact what he wants. I think Hillary understands the compromising nature of politics more so than he does.”

But for Emily Cain, herself a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, it was all good.

She started her day in Bangor and had stopped by the caucus in Lewiston before coming to Auburn and said turnout was outstanding across Maine.

That’s great news for Democrats, she said.

“The enthusiasm, the first time caucusers — you can feel the energy here,” she said. “I think it’s strong sign for the fall, that people are frustrated but they feel there is something they can do about it. Being angry isn’t enough. They are looking for leadership to turn that anger into action. So I’m happy to have both Hillary and Bernie supporters working for me.”

The sheer numbers of voters Sunday were a surprise to Auburn Democrats, and it caused some issues.

Caucus convener Ed Desgrosseilliers said the group had set up more than 200 chairs in the middle school’s cafeteria with another 75 ready be set out if they were needed. But Democrats continued to come, with a line past the door at 1 p.m., when the caucus was scheduled to start. As party volunteers scrambled to get the voters registered, Degrosseilliers and his crew opened up the school’s gymnasium and bleachers to voters.

As a result, everything was delayed by about an hour, and a handful of voters walked out in frustration without casting their ballots.

But those who stayed must have set some sort of a record, according to Fred Brodeur, a longtime Auburn Democrat. The number of voters even surpassed 2008, when Auburn had more than 300 people attend, he said.

“This was the biggest in my memory — and my memory goes back to 1972,” Brodeur said.

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Sanders wins Maine Democratic caucuses

PORTLAND (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has ridden a big turnout to victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Maine’s Democratic presidential caucuses.

Sanders beat Clinton by a margin of nearly 2 to 1. He told supporters in Portland this past week that he’d win if there was a strong turnout.

And the turnout was so big Sunday that some voters had to wait in line for more than four hours in Portland.

The vote came a day after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won the GOP caucuses.

Unlike Saturday’s GOP caucuses, the results aren’t binding.

The votes will be used to select a slate of delegates to the state convention, where national delegates will be elected. Maine will send 25 delegates and five superdelegates to the national convention in Philadelphia.