Obama captures lead among Dem superdelegates
CAMPAIGN '08 | Insiders abandoning Hillary
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates Saturday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party's presidential nomination.
Obama added superdelegates from Utah, Ohio and Arizona, as well as two from the Virgin Islands who had previously backed Clinton. That enabled Obama to surpass Clinton's total for the first time.
(AP)
The milestone is important because Clinton would need to win over the superdelegates by a wide margin to claim the nomination.
Party insiders, however, have been steadily streaming to Obama.
''I always felt that if anybody establishes himself as the clear leader, the superdelegates would fall in line,'' said Don Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
''It is perceived that he is the leader,'' said Fowler, a superdelegate who backs Clinton. ''The trickle is going to become an avalanche.''
Superdelegates, party and elected officials who will attend the Democratic convention this August, can support whomever they choose. Neither Obama nor Clinton can win the nomination without them.
Obama now has endorsements from 276, according to the latest AP tally. Clinton has 271.5.
Including those chosen in primaries and caucuses, Obama has 1,864.5 delegates; Clinton has 1,697, according to the AP. Obama is just 160.5 delegates shy of the 2,025 needed for the nomination. Next up: Tuesday's West Virginia primary.