Ever hear about a "Superdelegate," and wonder who exactly they are, what they do, etc? Here are some answers:
Who are "Superdelegates"?
Superdelegates are party officials who go to the Democratic convention as unpledged delegates to help pick the nominee, they consist of Democratic members of the Senate (John Kerry, Harry Reid, etc.), House of Representatives (Rahm Emanuel, Nancy Pelosi, etc.), Democratic Governors (Ted Kulongoski, Brian Schwietzer, etc.) former Democratic Presidents (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton) and Vice-Presidents (Al Gore, Walter Mondale), former House and Senate Democratic leaders (Dick Gephardt, George Mitchell, etc.), current and former party Chairs (Howard Dean, Terry McAuliffe, etc.), and various Democrat party officials (state party chairs, DNC members, etc.).
Why have Superdelegates?
After the chaotic 1968 Democratic convention, the Democratic party decided to take influence away from party leaders and give it to voters. After deciding three Democratic nominees without party leaders, some Democrats thought that power shouldn't be taken from party leaders, and that it had given them weak tickets in George McGovern and Jimmy Carter, in 1982 the party decided to adopt the current system of "pledged" delegates who are selected by the voters and make up the majority of the delegates, and "unpledged" (Super)delegates who make up the rest.
How many Superdelegates are there?
At the 2008 Convention there will be around 800 Superdelegates out of approximately 4,100 total delegates (exact totals depend on whether Florida and Michigan's delegates are seated). Here is a list of all current Superdelegates.
How important are Superdelegates?
Superdelegates will likely decide the Democratic nomination this year because it is unlikely that either Clinton or Obama will get enough pledged delegates to win the nomination. Currently Clinton has 251 Superdelegates supporting her to 224 for Obama, Superdelegates can change their vote at any time, however (thus the name "unpledged delegates"). Some have speculated that some important Superdelegates could end the nomination fight if they decided to support a candidate, liberal blogger Kari Chisholm has compiled a useful list of Superdelegates who have not yet indicated support for a candidate, and how important their support might be here.
1 comments:
Odd - that Democrats talk about every vote counts, yet in reality, within their own party - ever vote doesn't count.
Forked tongues? Uh - yeah, nothing new.
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