Legal Commentary

The Latest on the SuperDelegate Front

By Jeralyn

The AP has the latest news on the superdelegate front. Ignore the misleading title,"AP survey: Superdelegates jump to Obama" (which implies scores of delegates are jumping ship or changing from Hillary to Obama)and read the text of the article:

Clinton still leads among superdelegates — 241 to 181, according to the AP survey. But her total is down two in the past two weeks, while his is up 25. Since the primaries started, at least three Clinton superdelegates have switched to Obama, including Rep. David Scott of Georgia, who changed his endorsement after Obama won 80 percent of the primary vote in Scott's district. At least two other Clinton backers have switched to undecided. None of Obama's have publicly strayed, according to the AP tally.

The reality, from their numbers: Hillary still leads in total superdelegates and despite his ten or eleven recent wins, only 3 out of 246 have left her for Obama while two have changed to undecided.

Reality #2: The superdelegates can change their mind up to the time they vote at the convention. If Hillary takes Texas and Ohio and stays in the race, she could gain more or take some from Obama.

Right now, the superdelegates are not the issue. Texas and Ohio voters are.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 22, 2008 (boomark / email).