Super Delegates at the Center of Electoral Storm

WASHINGTON — With Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both short of winning enough pledged delegates in presidential primaries, a dispute heated up last week over the role of the Democratic Party's "super delegates."

These 796 party activists and elected officials, who are free to cast their ballot as they wish, will make up one-fifth of the nominating convention delegates. That's easily enough to pick the Democratic nominee if neither candidate has clinched victory when the last primary vote is cast in June.

But does that mean that Clinton, who had the earlier lead in super delegates, could win the nomination, even if she winds up with fewer primary votes?

The New York senator's strategists, speaking after Clinton was trounced in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia last week, held that out as a possibility as they said "neither campaign" could win without super delegates.

"We are looking at essentially a tie" among the pledged delegates, campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson told reporters. He held that "super delegates are supposed to vote their conscience."

The Obama campaign, in the midst of an eight-state winning streak, disagrees. "It would be problematic for the political insiders to overturn the judgment of the voters," the Illinois senator said earlier this month.

In the era of instant Internet access to information, the super delegates seem to be a throwback to the smoke-filled rooms in which party regulars once secretly picked nominees. Actually, they came as a reaction to the 1972 nomination of George McGovern, who was seen as too far out of the mainstream, as well as to outsider campaigns, such as the one Jimmy Carter led in 1976 when he was a little known former Georgia governor.

Rule revisions guaranteed seats and votes to party regulars — who include governors, members of Congress, state party officials and labor union leaders — starting at the 1984 convention.

"The purpose was supposedly to provide some ballast in the party, to get elected officials back in so that they would help guide the party toward nominating an electable candidate," said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia.

Although super delegates have never decided nomination contests, Sabato said it is possible that if the primaries produce an inclusive result and a final difference of just 20 or so delegates, these insiders could be the final arbiters.

"But as long as you have any perceptible lead in popular votes for one or the other candidate, I just can't imagine the super delegates overturning the popular vote," Sabato said, noting that this group is chiefly made up of people who hold elective posts.

Florida Democratic Party Chairman Karen Thurman, one of the unpledged super delegates, agreed. "A good part of the super delegates are elected officials who have to answer to their constituencies," she said.

In fact, Obama's recent string of wins has begun to shake loose some who had earlier endorsed Clinton, including some African-American lawmakers. In Georgia, where Obama won overwhelmingly in the primary, Rep. John Lewis, an icon of the civil rights movement, was reported last week to be reconsidering his commitment to vote for the former first lady. Fellow Georgian Rep. David Scott, citing his Atlanta district's preferences, switched to Obama.

Some party activists — including liberal-leaning MoveOn.org, the Internet-based group that endorsed Obama — have launched drives to bombard the super delegates with e-mails urging them to follow the popular vote.

Democratic National Committee member Donna Brazile, a super delegate, has served notice that she would quit her party post if fellow super delegates picked a nominee who had not won most of the primary season votes.

As the intense behind-the-scenes wooing of super delegates has continued, Clinton held the edge late last week by a count of 242 to 163 for Obama, according to the Associated Press. But despite the Clinton effort, including calls from daughter Chelsea and former President Bill Clinton, most super delegates aren't ready to commit.

Even New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who was given two different cabinet posts in the Clinton administration, has yet to pledge.

In Florida, Thurman is now in the midst of a controversy over whether any Florida or Michigan delegates will be seated at the convention after those states defied party rules by holding early primaries. "I am clearly in a holding pattern," she said, adding that she hopes that the final primaries will sort out the matter.

"I think everybody is just weary right now," she said. "I think they're just trying to let this all play out."