Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Democratic primaries getting a bit tasty

We could be in for some real fun if the latest predictions prove right. According to the beeb:


Hillary Clinton
8 states, 582 delegates
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee,
New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Arizona, California

Barack Obama
13 states, 562 delegates
Georgia, Illinois, Delaware, Alabama, Utah,
North Dakota, Kansas, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, Alaska, Missouri

2,025 delegates needed for nomination. Delegate totals are latest Super
Tuesday projections from AP


However, what they don't tell us is that of the remaining delegates 850 are known as super delegates

Super-delegates (approximately 850 in 2008) include the following:
Elected members of the Democratic National Committee (~450)
Democratic
Governors
Democratic US Senators and US Representatives (including
non-voting delegates)
Distinguished party leaders (current and former
Presidents and Vice Presidents; former Democratic leaders of the Senate and
House; former DNC chairmen)
Unpledged "add-on's" chosen by the DNC

...

It has been 30 years since the Democratic Party had a cliffhanger going into the Convention. If there is no clear winner after state primaries and caucuses, then the super-delegates -- who are bound only by their consciences -- will decide the nominee.

So how do these super delegates stand so far? I can't find a single site with all of those who have declared so far but Clinton seems to have the edge.

We won't see this being played out in public but I'll bet there's going to be some real dirty tricks and arm twisting going on in the background.

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