The Superdelegate Primary

<p>As the Clinton-Obama duel grinds on, Democratic eyes are turning to those previously underappreciated people known as &quot;superdelegates.&quot;<br />

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Superdelegates are the elected officials and party leaders who are guaranteed a vote at the Democratic convention. They constitute about 20 percent of the delegates who will gather in Denver in August. They differ from delegates chosen by a primary or caucus in that they are &quot;unpledged&quot;–they don’t have to vote for any particular candidate. If Clinton and Obama continued to split primary votes (and therefore &quot;pledged&quot; delegates) fairly evenly, each will have to win votes from superdelegates to achieve the majority needed to capture the nomination<br />

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In other words, the preferences of the superdelegates is emerging as a kind of elite primary-the results of which could decide who wins the nomination.</p>

<p>Clinton is ahead in this contest, according to the various counts compiled by <a href="http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/">Democratic Convention Watch</a>, CNN, CBS and AP. But everyone has different numbers that are constantly changing as superdelegates proclaim their choices.<br />

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Earlier this week, <a title="Minnesota Monitor" href="http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3161" id="e5eu">Minnesota Monitor</a> reported that Rep. Tim Walz, a superdelegate, had endorsed Obama. On Wednesday, another superdelegate Sen. Tom Harkin hinted broadly to <a title="Iowa Independent" href="http://iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1928" id="riwo">Iowa Independent</a> that he is skeptical about Clinton. &quot;There are some real dark clouds&quot; around her campaign, Harkin said while professing neutrality. Meanwhile, <a title="Associated Press" href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gsYYgRLZZPaOTI67Q87jcKXiZBmQD8UKVR180" id="q0_l">Associated Press</a> reports that two Michigan congressmen have endorsed Clinton.</p>

<p>The polls in the superdelegate primary will remain open for the next six months.</p>