Superdelegates Explained
by Clare O'Neil on March 17, 2008 in Citizen Conversation with...
The 796 superdelegates include elected representatives, past U.S. presidents, former national committee heads and Democratic National Committee members, among others. Each is awarded one vote, which they cast at the Democratic convention.
Superdelegates come to the convention “unpledged” - that is, they do not carry the clear mandate of conventional delegates, who usually pledge to vote for a particular candidate.
Most election years, the nominee is decided long before the convention, making the votes of unpledged superdelegates irrelevant. But this year, with Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. Hillary Clinton by just over 100 delegates with only a few major contests remaining, superdelegates could tip the balance.
The superdelegate system was created after the bitter battle between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination. Carter won the nomination, but went on to lose the general election to Ronald Reagan. In the aftermath, Democratic leaders decided to entrust party leaders with greater influence in choosing the nominee to prevent internal battles.
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