'Superdelegates' may hold juice in Dem slugfest

For all the hype leading up to Super Tuesday, California's voice in the Democratic nomination may now rest on the state's 71 "superdelegates" not tied to votes cast Feb. 5.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., won California by more than nine percentage points statewide, a strong enough performance to score roughly a 42-delegate advantage in the state.

But with the Democratic contest remaining so close, all eyes have turned to the party's 842 unpledged superdelegates nationwide, which include congressional representatives, Democratic governors, former Presidents Clinton and Carter, and assorted party leaders. They represent more than 20 percent of the total Democratic delegates.

If neither Clinton nor Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., can seize enough momentum to become the clear favorite before the late August convention in Denver, the unpledged delegates could decide the party's nominee.

Eyeing that scenario, both campaigns have already begun heavy lobbying of delegates in California and elsewhere.

Bob Mulholland, a California Democratic Party official and superdelegate who remains undecided, said he received a message Thursday that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., an Obama supporter, wanted to talk to him.

"All this phone calling is boosting up the income of the telephone companies," Mulholland said. "I know of one delegate who got a call from Hillary Clinton's college roommate and from Chelsea Clinton."

Mulholland said he believes the race will be decided well before the convention because "it's the nature of the beast and ultimately somebody always prevails" from the primaries.

Not everyone is so certain.

"There's a growing sense that the superdelegates are going to be pivotal," said Darry Sragow, a California-based Democratic adviser. "There's a thought that the committed delegates could be basically even and neither candidate can get to 2,025 (needed for nomination). Then the superdelegates become super-important."

In California, the candidates long ago locked up support from some superdelegates, primarily congressional members who endorsed them during the campaign and are expected to back them through the nominating process.

Clinton received greater establishment support in California early on, and she has received endorsements from 25 superdelegates so far, ranging from Sen. Dianne Feinstein to Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Anaheim. Obama has publicly received support from nine California superdelegates, including Rep. Linda Sánchez of Lakewood and Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland.

Locally, Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, have endorsed Clinton. Matsui is a national co-chair of Clinton's campaign and announced her support last spring. Obama won Matsui's district by just more than five percentage points, but the congresswoman remains committed to Clinton.

"Our party is really blessed to have two great candidates this year, but (Matsui) continues to believe Hillary Clinton is the best person to be our next president and looks forward to supporting her when she becomes the Democratic nominee in August," said Matsui communications director Lauren Smith. "She believes Clinton is the candidate with the ex-perience and vision to lead the country."

The Democratic Party established its superdelegate system before the 1984 convention as a way of giving party leaders greater control over their nomination while maintaining a voter-based primary system. Some party leaders felt that 1972 nominee George McGovern was too liberal, while they believed former President Carter, first nominated in 1976, was too much of an outsider, said Bill Carrick, a Democratic strategist.

Carrick was on the party's commission to change the nominating process, though he said he voted against the current system because he believed there might be a backlash among voters who felt like they were being disenfranchised if the superdelegates decided the nominee.

So far, Democratic candidates have generally wrapped up the nomination before the convention, relegating the superdelegates to a confirmation role. In 1984, Walter Mondale used the superdelegates to ward off a challenge from Gary Hart, but their race was not as close as the current one.

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