Clinton leads in superdelegates

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton retains her lead among suddenly critical Democratic Party insiders even as Sen. Barack Obama builds up his delegate margin with primary and caucus victories across the country, according to a survey by the Associated Press.

Of the 796 lawmakers, governors and party officials who are Democratic superdelegates, Clinton had 243 and Obama had 156.

According to the AP's latest tally, Clinton has 1,136 total delegates and Obama has 1,108. A candidate must get 2,025 delegates to capture the nomination.

"I told my wife I'm probably going to be pretty popular for a couple months," said Richard Ray, a superdelegate and president of the Georgia chapter of the AFL-CIO. Ray said he will remain undecided because the labor federation has made no endorsement.

"If they endorse, then I will, too," Ray said.

Unlike pledged delegates secured through a primary or a caucus, superdelegates can vote for whomever they choose, and they are not required to vote for the candidate they endorse. Superdelegates make up about 19 percent of the overall delegates.

The national party has named about 720 of the 796 superdelegates. The remainder will be chosen at state party conventions in the spring and summer. AP reporters have interviewed 95 percent of the named delegates, with the most recent round of interviews taking place after Super Tuesday.

For the first time since the AP began contacting superdelegates in the fall, more than half of them -- 399 -- have endorsed a candidate. The remaining 320 or so delegates said they are either undecided or uncommitted, making them the subject of intense lobbying by both campaigns.

The role of superdelegates is causing anxiety inside and outside the campaigns. If the current snapshot of the race holds, superdelegates could decide the nomination in favor of one candidate even if the other receives more votes in the party primaries and caucuses.

Obama weighed in Friday, telling reporters that voters should determine which candidate superdelegates support, even as his campaign actively courted them.

Clinton, speaking to reporters Saturday, argued that superdelegates should make up their own minds and pointedly noted that Obama has the endorsements of superdelegates Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, a state whose primary Clinton won.

"Superdelegates are by design supposed to exercise independent judgment," she said. "If Senator Obama and his campaign continue to push this position, which is to the contrary of what the definition of superdelegates has historically been, I will look forward to receiving the support of Senator Kerry and Senator Kennedy."

The Democratic Party introduced superdelegates to the nominating process after the 1980 election with the idea of giving a voice to elected officials and party elders who had a stake in who became the party's standard bearer.

Since 1984 -- when Walter Mondale relied on superdelegates to distance himself from rival Gary Hart and secure the Democratic nomination -- primaries and caucuses have determined the party's nominee without superdelegates making a difference.



What's a superdelegate?

Superdelegates can vote for whomever they choose, and they are not required to vote for the candidate they endorse, unlike pledged delegates secured through a primary or a caucus.

The Democratic Party injected superdelegates into the nominating process in the 1980s to give elected officials and party leaders and other such movers and shakers a say in who became the party's nominee.

Democratic superdelegates, which number 796 this year, make up about 19 percent of the overall delegates.