Senator Barack Obama has all but erased Senator Hillary Clinton's once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates. Friday he picked up more endorsements plus the labor backing of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union as elements of the Democratic Party began to unite around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the federal and Washington, D.C., governments. Senator Obama, who won a convincing victory in the North Carolina primary and lost Indiana narrowly on Tuesday, has been steadily gaining strength in the days since.
Senator Obama picked up the backing of five superdelegates, including Representative Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter. The developments left the former first lady with 271.5 superdelegates, to 268 for Senator Obama. Little more than four months ago, on the eve of the primary season, she held a lead of 169-63.
In addition to Payne, Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon and two members of the Democratic National Committee from California announced they were supporting Senator Obama. He also received the endorsement of John Gage, president of the AFGE. "Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama's campaign," he said in a statement.
"After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs," said Representative Payne, who in a statement said that Senator Clinton is a good friend and he still holds her in high regard. Payne is one of at least 10 superdelegates who have switched allegiances from Senator Clinton to Senator Obama. None have publicly switched the other way.
In the overall race for the nomination, Senator Obama leads with 1,856.5 delegates, to 1,697 for Senator Clinton. He is just 168.5 delegates short of the 2,025 delegates needed to win it. Senator Obama padded his delegate lead in Tuesday's primaries, but most uncommitted superdelegates still want to remain on the sidelines. The Associated Press interviewed more than 70 undeclared superdelegates or their representatives Wednesday, and many said they don't want to get involved until the voting ends June 3. However, the comments of some of the uncommitteds were anything but encouraging for Senator Clinton. Pennsylvania Representative Mike Doyle said Senator Clinton's pitch to superdelegates has been that she can win the popular vote, but that was undercut when Senator Obama netted more than 200,000 popular votes in the Tuesday contests. "The math just got very tough for her after last night," Doyle said. "I think most of us out of respect for her are content to wait a little longer. ... The absolute best way for this to end is for the candidates to end it, not the superdelegates. That's the ending we all dream about every night."
Former President Bill Clinton helped many of these publicly uncommitteds get their current positions, so they are very hesitant to endorse an opponent of the most powerful family in the Democratic Party. There is some speculation that Senator Clinton is only staying in the race to recoup fundraiser money for the $11 million of her own money she lent her campaign.
Wednesday Senator Clinton lost another supporter in Virginia state House member Jennifer McClellan. "I think the time has come to support Senator Obama as the likely nominee," McClellan said in a conference call with reporters. "Given what happened last night, it's very unlikely we will have a different result, and it is time to come together as a party and prepare for victory against John McCain in November." Senator Obama also got the support of North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry. Arizona Democratic Chairman Don Bivens also appeared closer to backing Senator Obama after receiving e-mails from both camps Wednesday. "The Obama one was more flattering and sort of laid out the mathematical facts," Bivens said. "I'm still uncommitted, but I do believe that yesterday's results put me at a decisional plateau." He said the rest of the contests' outcomes are more predictable. "I think that we're at a point where the track got shorter and you can see the finish line." Superdelegates supporting Senator Obama recently have given a number of reasons. They recognize he is the front-runner and want to end a divisive party fight. They were impressed with his handling of a crisis that confronted his campaign in the comments of his former pastor. They simply think Obama would be a more attractive choice at the top of the ticket. They also don't want to risk alienating Black voters who are excited about Senator Obama's chance to become the first Black president. Senator Obama is going to be a tremendous boost for southern states like North Carolina. He will turn out segments of the electorate, particularly young people and Blacks, who have historically low turnout levels. That will help Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
Senator Obama planned to start traveling to swing states to signal that the general election has begun.
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