04 February 2008
“Superdelegates” May Decide Democratic Nominee
Party leaders, elected officials can shape outcome of a close race
Washington -- When Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama January 28, he moved Obama one vote closer to becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee. Kennedy is a “superdelegate” to the Democratic Party's convention, so his vote, along with other party leaders' votes, will be counted to determine the party’s nominee.
Kennedy is one of hundreds of Democratic Party leaders, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Al Gore and most current and former Democratic governors, senators and congressional representatives. These Democratic leaders and others appointed or elected by the Democratic National Committee will be able to vote as superdelegates at the convention this summer.
Superdelegates are not bound by the primary or caucus voting in their states, unlike the “pledged” delegates who are apportioned according to the vote totals and state party rules, which vary from a winner-take-all system to proportional allocation. The extremely competitive race between Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton suggests the superdelegates might play a crucial role in determining the Democratic Party’s nominee.
There are 4,049 total voting delegates scheduled to participate in the 2008 Democratic National Convention, after Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates for violating the primary season schedule. Of those, 3,253 are pledged delegates selected during the primary season; another 796 are unpledged superdelegates. To become the party's nominee, a candidate must earn the votes of least 2,025 delegates.
Although Democratic superdelegates are free to vote for any candidate, in some ways, their votes already are being counted. In fact, superdelegates who have announced their commitment to a specific candidate outnumber pledged delegates selected in primaries and caucuses. Ahead of the February 5 primaries, Clinton’s campaign counts 188 superdelegates among her 236 delegates; Obama’s campaign numbers 102 superdelegates in its 165 committed delegates.
The enhanced role of superdelegates was established in a 1982 rule to give elected Democratic officials and party activists additional influence in the nominating process. The Republican Party uses a different system for selecting its delegates through the primaries and has fewer superdelegates.
Superdelegates also are valuable because the endorsement by a high-profile delegate like Kennedy can bring dozens of other state and party delegates, activists and fundraisers into a candidate’s circle. Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns likely are seeking support from well-known superdelegates, including Gore and former presidential candidate Bill Richardson, the current governor of New Mexico, who could sway dozens of delegates.
But relying on superdelegates can be risky, as former Vermont Governor Howard Dean learned in 2004. Dean had been promised support by more than 130 high-profile delegates, including Gore, as he rose in the polls ahead of the Iowa caucus. When he finished third in Iowa and appeared to lose control of himself during his speech after the caucuses, superdelegates quickly shifted their support to Senator John Kerry, who went on to win the nomination.
Critics such as Joshua Spivak in the Los Angeles Times argue the superdelegate system risks taking the Democrats back to a time before 1972 when there was no uniform primary or caucus system and nominees were selected by delegates and party officials on the convention floor.
“In general, the last place the public would want the nominee selected is on the convention floor,” writes Spivak. “In the heyday of the conventions, when the presidential candidates were selected in backrooms and on the floor, there were always rumors of vote buying and corrupt bargains for the nomination.”
Thus far, Clinton and Obama appear to have split the support of Democratic primary voters fairly evenly. If this trend continues, the superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention might prove to be the tie-breakers in the race for the Democratic nomination.
