Texas State Convention Day

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Maybe we'll actually find out what's going to happen to all of those extra delegates.
The place to go to get the latest info is Burnt Orange Report where you'll see up to the minute news on what takes place today.

Sixty-seven of the state's 228 Democratic delegates are at stake in a delegate-selection process that started with the caucuses. Selections will wrap up at the Democrats' state convention in June.

The state party has no plans to publicize regional results, though a Democrat-oriented blog, the Burnt Orange Report, announced this week that it intends to partner with the Clinton and Obama campaigns to post results online.

Chris Elliott, chairman of the Travis County Democrats, is expected to chair the party's conventions for state Senate Districts 14 and 25. At least 7,000 delegates and alternates are expected to attend.

Flippin and Elrod each said about 65 percent of the caucus delegates chosen on primary night in the county went to Obama.

Elliott said Friday that the county party focused on compiling delegate lists and didn't add up how many delegates each candidate won at the caucuses. Obama carried 63 percent of the primary vote in Travis County. Obama also won Hays and Williamson counties, with 56 percent tallies. - Statesman

We love Texas. You know why? Texas has state superdelegates!

For those who want to follow along at home, the break points are approximately as follows:

Obama Vote %: 53%-54.5% Obama will get 36 delegates, Clinton 31
54.5%-55.97% Delegates will be 37-30
55.97%-57.46% Delegates will be 38-29 (projection from March 4).
57.46%-58.96% Delegates will be 39-28
56.96%-60.4% Delegates will be 40-27
60.4%-61.9% Delegates will be 41-26

Update 8:30 PM: Early returns have been up and down, but with 31% of the state delegates picked, Obama has 54.8%, and leads in national delegates 37-30, a net loss of one delegate vs the March 4 precinct caucus projection of 38-29.

Update 9:20 PM: 36% in, Obama has 58.4%, projection is Obama 39-28, Obama +1 over March 4.

Update 9:35 PM: 38% in, Obama has 57.48%, projection is Obama 39-28, Obama +1 over March 4, but its right on the edge of falling to 38-29.

Update 10:00 PM: 42% in, Obama has 56.9%, projection is Obama 38-29, even with March 4. We're hoping the pace will start to pick up at some point.

Update 10:50 PM: 57% in, Obama has 59.6%, projection is Obama 40-27, Obama +2 over March 4. Some Dallas districts came in 70-80% for Obama, pushing up his lead.

Update 11:10 PM: 58% in, Obama has 59.06%, projection is still Obama 40-27, but breakpoint is 58.96%, so could easily go back to 39-28 with next update.

Update 11:40 PM: 64% in, Obama has 57.2%, right back to 38-29. El Paso for Clinton.

Update 12:10 PM: 69% in, Obama has 56.3%, still at 38-29.

Update 12:40 PM: 70% in, Obama has 56.06%, still at 38-29, but on the edge of 37-30. But Burnt Orange suggests outstanding counties are pro-Obama, so 38-29 may be final number, which, again, would be no change from March 4.

Update 1:05 AM: 72% in, Obama has 56.03%, still barely at 38-29.

Update Sunday 10 AM: 76% in, Obama has 55.4%, delegates at 37-30.

Update Sunday 1 PM: 82% in, Obama has 56.08%, delegates back to 38-29.
There are about 1300 delegates left. 285 are state superdelegates (here's a list), and because of the way they are distributed, they may favor Clinton more than the statewide results would indicate. Funny how that parallels the counts at the national level!

Update Sunday 4:30 PM: 87% in, Obama has 55.91%, delegates at 37-30, just under 38-29.

Update Monday 10:30AM: With 90% of the caucus results in BOR is reporting that Obama 55.22% to Clinton's 44.78%. This would give Obama 37 delegates to Clinton's 30. Obama's campaign is projecting a 38-29 split in favor of Obama. Whatever happens Obama will come away with the most pledged delegates from Texas when the primary and caucus are combined. The final delegate count will be close to Obama 98 and Clinton 95.

Update Wednesday 11:00 PM: Burnt Orange Report is projecting a 37-30 split, with the potential to go to 38-29, depending on a number of factors. However, be sure to read the comments below, with reasonable cases being made that it could drop to 36-31 or even 35-32. Because of the superdelegates, we will not have a final result until June 6.

Also, the breakpoints we had above were not correct, because the PLEO and at-large delegates are determined independently. The correct breakpoints are:

53.57% - 54% - 36:31
54.00% - 55.97% - 37:30
55.95% - 58% - 38:29

The Pelosi Club - Superdelegates who will support the pledged delegate winner

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(See bottom of post for May 20 and May 22 updates)

This is a list of superdelegates who have specifically committed to vote for the leader in pledged delegates. It is named the "Pelosi Club", in honor of its first two members:

Nancy Pelosi:

And, the speaker said again in an interview Friday that was aired today, the decisions of the party’s “super-delegates’’ to the Democratic National Convention should “reflect’’ which candidate has claimed the most pledged delegates in a contest which she believes will end well before the convention in Denver. - Baltimore Sun

Christine Pelosi:

"Many of us are elected by the grassroots of the party," she said, "And I cannot imagine going home in November to those people and try to phone bank for someone who did not capture the [pledged delegate] vote" - Huffington Post

Roy Romer is also onboard with backing the delegate leader: (Removed on 5/13 - endorsed Obama)

Romer, while reiterating that he hasn't taken a side, said the key should be the delegate count -- a standard that is likely to favor Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. He didn't pick up on a reporter's suggestion that the overall popular vote should matter, too. That's probably a disappointment to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. Romer was a national co-chairman of her husband's presidential re-election campaign in 1996 and became general chairman of the DNC in January 1997, while Bill Clinton was president and the nation's leading Democrat. -USA Today

Update 5/1: Former President Jimmy Carter joins the Pelosi Club:

"And I think that many super-delegates who have not yet declared their preference have the same feeling that I do, including the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She’s said over and over that whoever gets the most [pledged] delegates by June 3rd ought to be the nominee. - UK Telegraph

Clinton endorsers:
Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA) - most pledged delegates, most states won

Uncommitted:
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) (added 3/30)
Christine Pelosi (CA) (added 3/30) (endorsed Obama 6/3)
Gov. Roy Romer (CO) (added 3/30) (removed 5/13 - endorsed Obama)
Former President Jimmy Carter (GA) (added 5/1) (endorsed Obama 6/3)
Betty Richie (TX) (added 3/30) (removed 5/29 - endorsed Obama)
Denise Johnson (TX) (added 4/6)
Chris Van Hollen (MD) (added 5/24) (endorsed 6/4)

Obama endorsers:
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA)
Sen. Tom Daschle (SD) (added 3/30)

We also have 1 additional member from Florida:
Obama endorsers:
Rep. Robert Wexler (FL) (added 4/8)

One person who won't be in the Pelosi Club: DNC Chair Howard Dean:

Citing Democratic rules, national committee Chairman Howard Dean on Tuesday said that the superdelegates who are poised to select the party's presidential nominee are free to back whomever they wish at the end of the primaries, regardless of who leads in the popular vote or pledged delegates. "They should use whatever yardstick they want," Dean said in an interview at party headquarters. "That's what the rules provide for."

A majority of the pledged delegates is 1627.

If Obama wins a majority of the pledged delegates, he will gain 7 supers and Clinton will lose 1.
If Clinton wins a majority of the pledged delegates (this is considered unlikely), she will gain 8 supers and Obama will lose 2.

Update: Any superdelegate who uses the leader in "popular vote" as a basis for their vote is not eligible for membership in the Pelosi Club. Counting the popular vote this year has turned out to be a subjective measure, not an objective measure, and is therefore worthless for definitively determining how a superdelegate will vote.

Update May 20: Please note that we will not be moving the Pelosi Club members to Obama's column should he clinch the pledged delegate majority today. It has always been our policy not to move superdelegates based on conditional endorsements when those endorsements come true. If these supers want to endorse Obama once he clinches the pledged delegate majority, they need to say so themselves.

Also note: Given that it is likely that the Florida and Michigan delegates will be seated in some fashion, 1,627 will probably not be the final number for a majority of the pledged delegates anyway, and it's therefore up to the members of the Pelosi Club, not us, to decide when Obama has reached that point.

Update May 22: We have removed all Obama endorsers (Lofgren, Daschle and Wexler) from the Pelosi Club. With Obama clinching the Pledged Delegate Majority (non MI/FL version), it's clear they will stay with Obama no matter what.

New support for alternative Florida delegate plan

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The Ledger in Lakeland, FL is reporting that Jon Ausman, the head of Florida's DNC delegation, has two proposals for allocating Florida's delegates that will honor the spirit of the election results while not seating them entirely as is.

Ausman, who is also the DNC member appealing the DNC's decision to strip Florida of it's superdelegates and its 100% delegate penalty, has devised two different approaches for how the delegates can be allocated.

From the Ledger's article:

Ausman's first equation, resulting in a six-delegate net for Clinton, involves halving the state's number of unpledged delegates and then applying the state's primary results by congressional district as called for in the party's own rules.

The second formula, resulting in a 19-delegate net for Clinton, reverses the math, applying the state's primary results by congressional district to the state's unpledged delegates and then halving that number. Obama's campaign has all but rejected the second formula, Ausman said.

Apparently the proposals are under review by DNC staff and could be in front of the Rules and Bylaws Committee by next week. However, Ausman wants a ruling on his two pending appeals of the earlier committee decisions regarding Florida's delegates before they consider these new proposals.

It seems like there may be some possibility of a resolution to Florida's delegation before the convention. As always we'll keep you apprised.

Texas County Conventions Q&A

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The Dallas Morning News has a helpful Q&A on the Texas County Conventions being held tomorrow:

We already had caucuses. What gives?

The county conventions are the second step in determining delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. On March 4, 126 delegates were selected during the primary process.

On Saturday, 7,298 delegates will be selected from a pool of about 88,000 to move on to the June state convention in Austin. The June convention will determine the 67 delegates who will be sent to Denver via the caucus and convention process.

...

Can pledged delegates change their minds at the county conventions?

Yes. Supporters of both candidates say they have heard tales of people being lured from one camp to the next. But don't expect any big shifts.

After Saturday, will we know who has the most pledged caucus delegates?

We hope so. Both campaigns are expected to keep count. The results could also be given out at the conventions, though someone must take a canvass to get a statewide total.

We'll try to have results here tomorrow.

Update: Burnt Orange Report is planning major coverage this weekend.

Dean calls for supers to decide by July 1

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DNC Chairman Howard Dean is calling on all superdelegates to make a decision by July 1:

A potential game-changer from CBS News and "The Early Show." Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean says he wants superdelegates to make a decision by JULY 1 -- the most specific he has been in his effort to prod the party to decide between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton before the Democratic National Convention in late August.

Harry Smith asked if after the nominating contests end with the South Dakota and Montana primaries on June 3, "Do you want the superdelegates to have some sort of vote immediately so that you'll know months in advance of the convention what the outcome is?”

Dean replied: “Well, I think the superdelegates have already been weighing in. I think that there's 800 of them and 450 of them have already said who they're for. I'd like the other 350 to say who they're at some point between now and the first of July so we don't have to take this into the convention.”

This comes on the heels of Gov. Bredesen's call for a superdelegate convention, and DNC Representative Ed Espinoza's call for decisions by Memorial Day. Note that Dean has not been in favor of the superdelegate convention idea. He just wants each superdelegate to announce a decision either way, so we have a nominee as soon as possible and can turn our attention to the fall election.

2008 Democratic Convention Watch agrees with Governor Dean. For the good of the party, and to allow our nominee to turn our attention to the General Election, we call on all our superdelegate friends to announce their choice as soon as possible after the last primaries, or, of course, earlier if they choose, as Sen. Casey did today.

Update: The commenter raises a good point: Will Chairman Dean take his own advice and endorse someone by July 1?

Life as a Super

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'Morning all - Mr Super here from MrSuper.org. Me and the boys at DCW thought it might be fun to give you a glimpse of life as a Super.

For starters, it used to be a dull existence. My life is very routine. Wake up, coffee, read the papers. Get dressed, get to work. I asked a friend who house sat for me last year if they had learned anything about me while living in my house. "Yeah," this person said. "That you're boring." Then this Super Delegate thing came along.

This Super Delegate part of our duties, it's always been there - it's just never meant much. Like the tonsils of our job description.

So you could say life is different now. Whereas I used to read the morning dailies, I now speak to the writers of the morning dailies. I used to listen to radio, now I speak to the radio reporters. There's been some cable TV inquires, foreign press and Internet folks, too (ironically, I don't read that many blogs). I'm not always quoted, which is fine by me. No photoshoots for Esquire.

But I bring this up to echo what I say to reporters - that Supers are normal people. We're not Washington "fat cats." We don't dine on caviar and drive Cadillacs. My neighbor was talking to me about the election the other day, and he made a comment about the Supers. He knew I was on the DNC, but didn't connect that to me also being a Super.

But I will admit - it is a little fun. :)

Representative Al Wynn Resigns

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Representative (and Obama Superdelegate) Al Wynn announced his resignation this afternoon. He will leave office in June to allow Donna Edwards to go into the November election as an incumbent.

U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), defeated in a Democratic primary for reelection to his seat in February, announced this afternoon that he will resign from Congress to take a job a local law firm.

Wynn, who spent 16 years in Congress representing a district including most of Prince George's County and part of Montgomery County, was defeated by insurgent Democratic candidate Donna F. Edwards in February. However, his eighth term was not to have concluded until January 2009. - Washington Post

Donna Edwards has already endorsed Obama but in order to become a superdelegate she will need to win in a special election. And until a special election is held, the superdelegate number drops by 1 to 793.

Our very own Charlie Anthe did a little investigating and found Maryland's Special Election rules.

The governor shall issue a proclamation within 10 days the vacancy becomes known to the Governor, declaring that a special election shall be held.

There must be at least 36 days from the date of the proclomation to the date of the primary election and at least another 36 days from the date of the primary election to the date of the general election.

However, there are some caveats to this:

(i) If the vacancy occurs within a window of 60 days before the general primary election and the last day of the congressional term, the Governor can choose to not issue a proclamation allow the office to remain vacant.

The window is in effect for (i), as Maryland's primary election was Feb 12th. Therefore, it's up to Maryland's Democratic governor Martin O'Malley to decide whether to hold the special election. It should be possible to schedule a special election to be finished prior to the Democratic convention, but it doesn't necessarily have to work out that way. And note that nothing will happen until Wynn actually resigns in June.

Resources:

http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2008/index.html

http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/web_statutes.asp?gel&8-710

Update: One possibility for the Special Election is that it's set for the same day as the General Election. Assuming Donna Edwards wins both, she would get a 2-month leg up on seniority over her fellow incoming freshmen. This was most recently done in TX-22 and NJ-13 in 2006.

Update 2: Because the primary and general special election must be held on Tuesdays, its actually 36+42 = 78 days from the Governor's proclamation to the earliest a replacement can be elected. The last Tuesday before the convention is August 19, and 78 days before that is June 2. If Wynn's resigning in June, than he had better resign on June 1 if his replacement is to have any chance at being a superdelegate.

Connecticut names Obama supporter as add-on

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Wednesday was Connecticut's turn to name it's add-on superdelegate:

The Connecticut Democratic superdelegate ranks are complete with the selection of State Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams, D-Brooklyn....he is a leader of the Obama campaign in Connecticut.

More specifically, Williams is co-chair of Barack Obama's Connecticut Leadership Council along with Ned Lamont, and we will be adding him to the Obama column.

Puerto Rico Governor Indicted

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Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila is among several people named in a sealed indictment, officials said Thursday, as U.S. authorities made the first arrests in a long-running probe into his party's finances.

An Associated Press reporter saw at least five officials from the Popular Democratic Party as they were led in handcuffs into the U.S. federal building in San Juan. - AP

Gov. Acevedo is a superdelegate who has endorsed Barack Obama.

College Democrats also coming to Denver

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The College Democrats of America have their convention every 4 years in the DNCC host city just before the big show, and this time is no exception:

With the youth vote surging this year, we are expecting a very large attendance at the annual College Democrats of America Convention. So if you want to go to Denver, start planning now! Here are the details: The CDA Convention begins Friday, August 22nd. Most of the CDA portion of the programming will be over by Sunday, August 24th but lots of events will continue through the Democratic National Convention. Both events will officially end on Thursday, August 28th.

Everyone is encouraged to stay for the College Democrats of America Convention (which will have most of its events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and for the Democratic National Convention (which begins Monday and ends on Thursday). For those who were at our 2004 CDA Convention which overlapped the Democratic Convention in Boston, this year will be exactly the same. During the Democratic National Convention we will host all sorts of panels, parties, and events.

Registration is limited and housing is even more limited. If you have housing options available to you in Denver, secure them now. Know a friends couch you can stay on? Great. Otherwise CDA has dorms that will be available for students from Friday, August 22 to Thursday, August 28th. Prices and registration will be up on on www.collegedems.com shortly.

And an invitation from CDA President and Superdelegate Lauren Wolfe:

Judge rules Michigan's primary law unconstitutional

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This is yet another hit for any chance of Michigan's January primary results counting

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled Michigan's presidential primary law unconstitutional and blocked the state from giving voter lists from the Jan. 15 election to the state's major political parties.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds in Detroit ruled that the law's provision giving the list of voters' partisan preference only to the Democratic and Republican parties violated the rights of several small parties, who argued that the information should be distributed to all who wanted it or to no one.

...

But the ruling likely further damages the already small hope that the Democratic Party would honor the Jan. 15 results. It is unlikely that national Democratic officials would relent in their opposition to seating delegates based on a disputed vote that has now been declared flawed under the constitution. - Detroit News

You can see what the outcome would be of several MI and FL scenarios in our FL and MI By The Numbers page

Update: Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic has posted a PDF of the ruling
Ambinder's take on the ruling:

I see this is as a small political victory for Clinton and a larger one for Obama; the ruling today means nothing more than a chance for her to make the case again for a re-vote, as campaign manager Maggie Williams does in an e-mail to reporters:

"In the wake of today's court ruling regarding Michigan’s January 15th primary, we urge Senator Obama to join our call for a party-run primary and demonstrate his commitment to counting Michigan's votes."

An Obama aide said the ruling speaks for itself. They avoided the worst: where the Clinton campaign had hoped that the judge would order a revote as the remedy, she simply ordered the state party to share its lists. Since the legislature is no longer in session, the notion of a re-vote is moot at this point, anyway.

David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign chairman, weighed in on the MI ruling in a statement released by the campaign ... “As we’ve said consistently, we think there should be a fair seating of the Michigan delegates. The Clinton campaign has stubbornly said they see no need to negotiate, but we believe that their Washington, my-way-or-the-highway approach is something voters are tired of." - The Page

Florida DNC appeal may bring back FL superdelegates

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Starting to percolate on the newswire is an appeal by DNC Floridian Jon Ausman. He is stating that DNC rules prohibit the Rules Committee from:

a.) stripping Florida's superdelegates of being seated at the national convention and
b.) stripping Florida of all of its pledged delegates. He states that the penalty called for is a penalty of 1/2 of delegates (similar to what the RNC did to Florida and Michigan).

The early conventional wisdom is that argument A has validity, argument B less so. The DNC Rules Committee staff is apparently currently reviewing the appeal, and expects that to be done in about two weeks, after which the Committee would re-convene to review it.

It would be very weird if after all the arguing of disenfranchising Florida's voters if the superdelegates were able to be seated but not the regular delegates. We'll keep you up to date of how this progresses.

Upcoming Texas County/District Conventions

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This Saturday Texas will perform its second level of delegate selection - its county and Senate District Conventions. Unlike most states, Texas does not apportion precinct delegates from its primary and caucuses according to its US Congressional Districts, but rather from its State Senate Districts.

A lot of confusion has reigned about how the first level delegates were determined on March 4th. Most folks are now familiar with the famous "Texas 2-Step", where first a primary was held, then caucuses immediately afterward.

Texas has a total of 228 delegates attending the national convention. 126 are allocated according to the results of the primary, and another 67 from the caucuses (the remainder are superdelegates and add-ons). However, the delegates from the caucuses most go through several levels - first precinct level delegates were elected to attend Senate District conventions (the ones occurring this Saturday). From there, state convention delegates will be elected, who will determine the final remaining national convention delegates.

Based on the results from the dual primary/caucus event on March 4th, the district delegates will meet and determine the delegates to the Texas Democratic State Convention on Friday, June 6. At the State Convention the final 67 pledged national delegates will be selected (along with 3 elected "unpledged add-on" delegates). The 32 Texas superdelegates are obviously already determined.

So what will the upcoming district conventions tell us? Mainly they'll provide insight into just what the heck happened in the precinct caucuses on March 9th. Due to how the caucus results were reported back to the state office, there was never a final set of results reported to the media. Michell Tsai at Slate has a good explanation as to what happened: The state party never anticipated the demand for results (most races have had a clear nominee by now), and had no system in place for reporting. Precinct chairs were only required to mail in their results within three days. There was an optional reporting mechanism to phone in final delegate totals, but its usage was optional and so there was no clear picture. The party finally decided to just stop worrying about reporting the precinct results and just focused on making sure they had the information out to the district conventions in time for their start this Saturday. Therefore, the last update only had 41% of precinct results, and there won't be any further updates. From the Texas Democrats website:

The Texas Democratic Party is no longer updating the unofficial results from the precinct conventions. We are now shifting our efforts to collecting the official results from the precinct conventions to make sure they are available at Senatorial District/County Conventions on March 29, where delegates will be elected to the State Convention. Ultimately, those state conventions delegates will determine the allocation of 67 national delegates.

But with the next round of conventions coming up, why hasn't the Texas Democratic Party updated the statewide precinct caucus results? There's no clear answer; if I had to hazard a guess I'd say politics in Texas are pretty low-key, local affairs, and all this is handled at a level lower than the statewide party headquarters. A quick read through the Texas Democratic Party Rules provides the most likely explanation (emphasis in italics are mine):

Rule IV-B-7:
7. Submission of Records. The record and a copy shall be signed officially by the Permanent Convention Chair, sealed, and transmitted safely in person, no later than the third day after the convention, or by certified mail, return receipt requested, no later than the second day after the Convention, by the Permanent Chair to the County Chair or County Executive Committee Secretary, who shall send a copy of
the delegate and alternate list to State Party headquarters. Copies shall be retained on file at both the county and state office until the end of the primary election year. (Texas Election Code §174.027)

Rule IV-C-4:
4. Temporary Roll. The County or Senatorial District Chair shall deliver the lists of all such Delegates and Alternates to the Convention, and these lists shall constitute the Temporary Roll. Only those Delegates listed thereon, or their alternates who assume Delegate status, may vote on the temporary organization of the Convention. Proxy voting shall not be permitted. (Texas Election Code §174.068)

So, we see that the precinct results were submitted to the County Chairs, who then forwarded that information on to the state party headquarters. Furthermore, the County Chairs are the ones responsible for determining the roll of eligible delegates to the County/District Conventions. Therefore I think that the County Chairs are the ones with the list of precinct caucus results, and the total list of statewide precinct delegate results is sitting in a filing cabinet in the Texas state Democratic office somewhere since no one has ever been asked to pull that information together before.

Currently the projected results are as follows:
Primary

• Clinton - 50.9% - 65 delegates
• Obama - 47.4% - 61 delegates

Caucuses (incomplete - based on 41% reporting)

• Clinton - 29 delegates
• Obama - 38 delegates

Therefore, look for potential movement in the delegate allocations for Texas based on the results of the district/county conventions this Saturday. (One last shameless plug: If you'd like insight into the different types of delegates (add-ons, PLEOs, etc.) I broke down the Washington state delegation last month).

NFL likely moves up season opener to avoid McCain speech conflict

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We were the first to break the story that there was a conflict between the NFL season opener and John McCain's acceptance speech. We were ridiculed in the comments, and our good friend, Neil Best of Newsday, called some of the options "ludicrous". Well one of those ludicrous options is likely going to happen:

The National Football League and NBC will likely move up the time of the league's September season opener so it won't conflict with presidential nominee John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

Since 2002, the NFL has held its season opener on the first Thursday night after Labor Day. This year, the game runs smack into the final night of the convention, when McCain will officially accept the nomination and give a nationally televised speech from Minneapolis.

While the NFL has yet to announce its schedule for the 2008 season, it's apparently not going to shy away from having its season opener on the scheduled day, with the game likely featuring the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

So, the NFL and NBC have agreed in principle to have the kickoff at 7 p.m. ET instead of the traditional 8:30 p.m. That would mean, except in the event of an overtime, that the game would end before NBC's expected one hour of convention coverage for the night.

The move comes with several risks, including a loss of audience since the game would start so early on the West Coast. Also, it could impact any pregame special or entertainment that the NFL or NBC could schedule. It would, though, give NBC News a strong lead-in to its convention coverage.
...
The Republican National Convention has been on the NFL radar since it was announced for early September. "We've been talking with NBC Sports about this," an NFL spokesman said. - Reuters

I'll be rooting for lots of instant replays, a few time-consuming but ultimately minor injuries, and as much as I love the NY Giants, a tie game that goes the full overtime. If that happens, McCains audience would be unmeasurably small.

And if that happens, Democrats all over should thank the one man who ultimately caused this to happen.

Michigan and Florida Update

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First, let me introduce myself. My name is Charlie Anthe, and I'm excited to be the newest contributing member to DCW! I've been blogging about both national politics and more regional issues of the Pacific Northwest from my blog The Foghorn, and I've been a long time listener, first time poster of DCW up until today. Please feel free to send me any feedback/ideas, of either my posts here or on my regular blog.

The current situation: Both state delegations remain ineligible to be seated at the national convention. Earlier attempts to broker some kind of "re-do" primary in both states have fallen through, mostly over two main issues: 1. Who would pay for a new election? and 2. Would a state election funded by out-of-state parties even be legal, and how could the results be validated as fair?

In Florida, legislative solutions were dim from the start. Both the Legislature and the Governor's mansion are controlled by Republicans, and they seem more than eager to watch the Democratic mess in their state continue while they sit back and share the popcorn. The Florida House Speaker was pretty emphatic about the issue:

"The state of Florida should not be involved in certifying or mediating intraparty squabbles," said House Speaker Marco Rubio. "The state did what its job is. We held a presidential preferential primary Jan. 29. It was legal, it was accurate, it was fair, it was open."

Further attempts to force the Florida delegation to be seated through the judiciary have also been nixed. Recently a federal appeals court upheld an earlier decision to not get involved.

In Michigan, while Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm had expressed interest in a re-do primary on June 3rd, the Michigan legislature recently adjourned without taking up the issue, making it impossible to implement. Most of the objections revolved around logistical concerns of setting up a new election in such a short period of time, as well as funding when the state is facing a $250 million shortfall it its upcoming FY 2009 budget forecast.

Earlier discussions of holding a caucus to apportion Michigan's delegates seem to be dead as well, or at least not mentioned at all by the governor in her statement after the legislature adjourned without approving the primary:

“I believe Senator Levin, Congresswoman Kilpatrick, National Committeewoman Debbie Dingell and U.A.W. President Ron Gettelfinger identified the fairest way for Michigan voters to have a voice in seating a delegation in Denver. They recommended to the Democratic National Committee (D.N.C.) that Michigan hold a state-run, privately funded primary.

I supported their recommendation, as did the D.N.C., and I am deeply disappointed that it is no longer a possibility. Now that the Legislature has decided not to act, we will turn our attention to other options. There is no road to the White House that does not go through Michigan, so it is essential that Michigan voters have a voice in who will be our party’s nominee and, ultimately, the next president of the United States.”

DNC Chairman Howard Dean has repeatedly stated that any solution would have to come with the agreement of both candidates:

"When you change the rules in the middle of the game, which is what's being proposed here, you've got to do it in a way that both campaigns agree is fair," he said.

Given that a re-do now looks increasingly impossible, the possibility of any negotiated solution also seems unlikely. Several solutions have been proposed by the various candidates, depending on how it favors them:

• Split the delegations 50/50 between Clinton and Obama. This solution is favored by the Obama camp, since it maintains their current delegate lead. As Clinton believes she would gain ground in these states (and based on the results in Florida is probably correct, Michigan is unknown given that Obama's name wasn't on the ballot), she is against this solution.


• Seat the delegations based on the existing primary results. Obviously, the Clinton campaign favors this solution as it would greatly benefit her, and the Obama campaign is heavily against it, stating that to do so would render the DNC rules useless.


• Some other solution as proposed by the state Democratic parties to the DNC Rules Committee (as permitted in the bylaws) that can be approved.

In Michigan, where Obama removed his name from the ballot after the state was stripped of their delegates, Clinton won 80 of 128 potential delegates. "Uncommitted", which Obama supporters encouraged voters to vote for in lieu of Obama's name won 55 delegates, but could support either candidate at the convention.

In Florida, Clinton beat Obama in pledged delegates by 113-71 (with 13 Edwards delegates) of 211 available.

All told, if Michigan and Florida were seated as-is, Clinton would receive a net gain of 122 pledged delegates (with 55 uncommitted and 13 Edwards). Also, each state's superdelegates would come into play, allowing Clinton to push her and Bill's connections through the party to gain more ground.

One other effect of adding both states back into the delegate picture would be to push the total number of delegates back up to 4,415, requiring 2,208 to win the nomination.

So where does this leave everything? Generally in one big royal mess. The do-over option now appears to be DOA in both states. Unless a brokered compromise can be agreed upon between the campaigns and submitted to the DNC in time, there are only a couple more possible options:

• A solution imposed through the judiciary. This is highly unlikely as Supreme Court decisions in the past have granted wide leeway to the parties to determine on their own how to select their own candidates.


• The issue continues up until the convention and lands in the hands of the Convention Credentials Committee. The Committee is the final authority in the seating of delegates and can establish its own solution as it sees fit that fall within the Call to Convention and the Rules and Bylaws of the Democratic Party.


• One of the remaining candidates drops out prior to the convention. In this case, most likely the presumptive nominee will drop their objection to the delegations being seated so the party can unite behind the nominee with all 50 states included.

It's unfortunate that this issue is distracting the party and is being used as a political hot potato between the two candidates' campaigns. (I posted my thoughts on this topic a week ago.) Unless we see a clear nominee prior to the convention, expect this issue to survive and turn up the heat up until August in Denver.

A Tale of Two California Congresswomen

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The blogosphere, or at least the Daily Kos part of it, was all aflutter today with the rumor that California Representative Lynn Woolsey was about to pull back her endorsement of Clinton, and instead, endorse the winner of her district, or just endorse the winner of the national pledged delegates. The diarist at Kos said she had talked to someone in Woolsey's office, who said the news release would be out shortly. Other callers, including ourselves, were told the same thing.

So we had a post all ready to go with the news. We just waited for the announcement. And waited. And finally, we contacted Woolsey's office again. (We don't claim to be journalists here, but sometimes we can't help ourselves). And, lo and behold, we found out that the information was false, and that Congresswoman Woolsey was not changing her endorsement.

A communication mistake? A call from the Clinton campaign? Don't know at this point.

But now, the flip side. It turns out another California congresswoman did pull her endorsement of a Democratic presidential candidate today. But it wasn't Woolsey, and the candidate losing the endorsement was not Clinton:

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a San Jose Democrat who will attend the state convention, says superdelegates should back the leader in delegates and popular votes. Lofgren has endorsed Obama, but said she would back Clinton if she took the lead in June.

That statement is no different than Nancy Pelosi has made, and therefore Lofgren will be moved from Obama back to Uncommitted. Tomorrow. Just in case this gets walked back also.

And lets be clear about the reality. While our tracking numbers for Obama will go down by 1, all analyses of the pledged delegate situation show that it is very difficult to come up with a reasonable scenario that shows Clinton catching up to Obama in pledged delegates. So a Woolsey move from Clinton to "pledged delegate leader" would actually be more significant.

But Woolsey didn't move, and Lofgren did. So Obama's numbers will go down by 1, and Lofgren becomes the 4th superdelegate to commit to support the national pledged delegate leader.

Puerto Rico primary change approved

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We broke the news over 2 weeks ago that Puerto Rico was moving their date from June 7 to June 1, and changing from a caucus to a primary. Today the DNC approved the change. The change in date was just a clerical error - The primary was supposed to be on the first Sunday in June, and someone must have used the wrong calendar.

But why the change from a caucus to a primary?

A primary will give more voters a chance to take part in the nominating process, said Puerto Rico Democratic Chairman Roberto Prats. He said caucuses were fine in previous years, when the party nominee was already settled and the only task was to choose delegates to attend the party's national convention.

"Now it's different," Prats told the Democratic National Committee's rules panel in a conference call. "This is the first time in decades that Puerto Rico will be participating in an event of this magnitude."

Update: The changes in both date and voting method were unanimously endorsed by all
PR State Democratic Committee members, which included pro-Clinton and pro-Obama backers. This was a logistical change, not one intended to give either side an advantage.

MisterSuperDelegate.org

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We know we've come a long way from the early days in January when we started our Superdelegate Lists. Back then most people didn't know what a superdelegate was. Now it's hard to go anywhere without hearing about them.

Today we received a press release from a mystery DNC member announcing the start of MisterSuperDelegate.org

DNC Member Launches Website Exclusively Covering Superdelegates

“MisterSuperDelegate.org” Debunks Myths, Answers User Questions and

Provides Insight on Nomination Process

For Immediate Release

March 24, 2008 ( Washington , DC ) – MisterSuperDelegate.org is a site authored by an undeclared Superdelegate, and seeks to debunk urban myths about who Superdelegates are and how they are engaging in the nomination.

People have lots of questions about Superdelegates, and on MisterSuperDelegate.orgMisterSuperDelegate.org has a complete series on debunking myths - popular yet incorrect notions about the process.
they can ask and receive unfiltered answers.

MisterSuperDelegate.org – which redirects to the more concise “MrSuper.org” domain – also provides links to news stories and data to support claims made on the site.

Current blog posts address Florida & Michigan elections and the non-viable ideas of a primary or convention just for Superdelegates. The site claims that “There are no undecided Superdelegates – only undeclared ones.”

The site is well worth a visit.

There Are No Undecided Super Delegates

Or at least, there are very few of them. The majority of undeclared Supers are just that - undeclared. It doesn't mean they don't have a clear preference. Keep that in mind when people are talking about the need for the candidates to lobby or not lobby the Supers more often. Because the truth is, it's really not that necessary.

You say Superdelegate, I say Super Delegate

Pet Peeve: the spelling of Super Delegate. I wonder what William Strunk would have to say? I prefer the two-word phrasing "Super Delegate" as opposed to the invented one-word "Superdelegate," because I don't think it's a real word. If anyone knows a reference tool that can verify the appropriate term that would be helpful.

Maybe we should trademark the word superdelegate? We've used it enough as one word... and lots of people consider our blog a reference tool.

And to answer the questions that will inevitably be raised:
1. Yes this is from an actual DNC member
2. No... we will not tell you who it is.

Detroit Mayor (and superdelegate) Kwame Kilpatrick Charged with 12 Counts

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Kilpatrick is refusing to step down.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is charging Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former top aide, Christine Beatty, with 12 counts of crimes in the text-messaging scandal, including perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice and willful misconduct in office.

She said she expects the two to turn themselves in no later than 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Worthy announced the charges Monday morning at a news conference that began with a 15-minute preamble that blasted the city's lawyer for what she called "deliberate obstruction" of her investigation and on the importance of telling the truth under oath. - ClickOnDetroit

As Kilpatrick (who has not yet committed to a candidate) is part of the Michigan Delegation his seat does not count toward the 794 superdelegate total.

Michigan postpones its District Caucuses

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For those of us curious how Michigan's 55 Uncommitted delegates would survive the post-primary process, if the Michigan delegation in its current form is ever seated, we'll have to wait a few more weeks:

Acknowledging that Michigan's delegate selection mess is unlikely to be resolved in the coming week, the state Democratic Party decided to postpone its congressional district conventions. The 15 district gatherings, at which more than half of the Democratic delegates are elected to the Democratic National Convention in August, had been slated for March 29. The state party's executive committee late Friday postponed the conventions until April 19.

An early February article had noted plans to make sure the Uncommitted delegates didn't get poached:

Local activists and Sen. Barack Obama supporters are involved in a grassroots campaign to protect and escort that uncommitted vote all the way to the national Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado, in August.

Maurice Badgett is one of several Detroit-area political activists who are determined to keep the uncommitted vote in the public eye. Like many others, Badgett is an organizer for Michiganders for Obama and considers it an injustice that many Detroiters were unable to cast a vote for their preferred candidate.

If citizens had a particular candidate in mind when voting uncommitted, vigilance and close observation of the party protocol will guarantee those candidates receive the appropriate number of delegates at the district, and then the national convention.

Michigan had 83 district-level and 45 state-level pledged candidates. The state-level delegates are still scheduled to be chosen on May 17.

DC add-on confusion

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Over a month ago we noted:

Which leads us to Mike Panetta, who is the elected U.S. Statehood Representative, or Shadow Representative, for the District of Columbia. He is not a normal superdelegate. However, the Call for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, section I(I), Footnote 5, states:

The District of Columbia shall select its Statehood Representative, if a Democrat, as one of its two (2) unpledged add-on delegates.

So Mike Panetta is the first known add-on superdelegate to the convention. He has endorsed Obama, and we have added him to our list of superdelegate endorsements.

Well, it turns out that Panetta is not (yet) a superdelegate. Here's what we know:

The DC Delegate Selection Plan, which I'm told has been approved by the DNC, does not call for the Statehood Representative to be automatically be given one of the 2 add-on positions.

In fact, Mike Panetta writes at the DC Democratic Party website, and he put out this notice calling for candidates for the add-on spots:

In accordance with the Democratic National Committee and the District of Columbia Delegate Selection Plan for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the DC Democratic State Committee will be electing Add on Delegates to the August 25-28, 2008 National Convention in Denver, CO. The DC Democratic Party is seeking candidates for 2 Unpledged Add-Delegates

An individual can qualify as a candidate for Unpledged Add-On ... by filing a statement of candidacy with the DC Democratic State Committee, 1341 G Street, NW Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005 no later than 5:00 PM March 7, 2008.

So how is DC implementing a delegate selection plan the violates the National Call to the Convention? Here's what the DNC has told us:

If the DC State Party fails to select the Statehood Representative as one of its 2 unpledged add-on delegates, then an implementation challenge can be filed against the State Party for violating the Call.

Which means the selection can be challenged before the Rules and Bylaws Committee or the Convention Credentials Committee. Could that happen? The DNC hopes it doesn't get to that point, and has said they "expect the person will indeed be selected".

And yes, we've learned that Panetta has applied for an add-on spot. (We haven't been able to determine the names of any other candidates). The DC add-ons are picked on April 3, so Panetta may only be off the superdelegate list for a couple of weeks. But as of now, he's not a superdelegate, so he will be taken off the lists (and Obama will lose 1 superdelegate).

Convention preparations: On track, but fundraising lags

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Two different takes on the preparations for the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. First, from the Roll Call, via the DNCC:

"'The nuts and bolts, the logistics of the convention are the logistics, regardless of the nominee,' said Leah Daughtry, chief executive officer for the Democratic National Convention. 'On Aug. 25, we have to be ready. We don't get another day. We're planning to be ready in that hall when that gavel drops.'

"Daughtry said organizers got off to 'an early start' with the selection of the convention dates and location. Also, she said party officials continue to be 'on pace or ahead of pace in terms of planning and logistics.'

"Much of the preparation has been under way for months, with national Democrats working to make available lodging, transportation and convention space for the thousands of visitors to Denver. Most of that work can be done without the presidential nominee in place, but the candidate typically teams with national party players well in advance to put his or her stamp on the overall message, framework and program for the four-day event.

But raising money is proving to be difficult:

The long and winding fight for the Democratic presidential nomination is giving a fundraising migraine to the Mile High City.

As the host city, Denver must raise $40.6 million by June 16 for the party's Aug. 25-28 convention. This week, the host committee missed its second fundraising deadline, and Mayor John W. Hickenlooper said he believed the drawn-out battle between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois had distracted potential donors.

"I think there's still so much focus around who the candidate will be that it is hard for people" to focus on the convention, he said.
...
Denver's host committee fell $5 million short of its goal to raise $28 million by March 17.

Conventions always have problems raising money, and the tight nomination race is going to continue to draw money away from the convention. We'll keep an eye on this.

Park Permit Lottery a success - Unless you're Recreate 68

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The on-going saga of Denver's park permit plan for the convention took a big step yesterday when the permits were decided on by a lottery. A previous attempt at the lottery on Tuesday was halted after a Recreate 68 member realized they weren't on the list even though they had applied multiple times. Problem solved? Hardly! Recreate 68 didn't get the permit they wanted for Civic Center Park.

"We're having our protest at Civic Center," said a livid Glenn Spagnuolo, a lead organizer for the group Re-create 68. "We're not going to give up Civic Center park to the Democrats. . . . They are creating a very dangerous situation."

Re-create 68 and its affiliates packed the random lottery with applications to better its chances, but the single entry by Jenny Anderson for the host committee won for Sunday, Aug. 24. The convention will be held Aug. 25-28 at the Pepsi Center.

Spagnuolo has been meeting monthly with city officials for a year, hoping to win the right to use Civic Center throughout the convention. He says 50,000 war protesters are coming for a march from Civic Center to the Pepsi Center on Aug. 24.

He said Thursday that he would not respect the host committee's permit and would occupy the park, even if it forced police to intervene. - Denver Post

Yesterday we received the following statement from Mayor Hickenlooper's office regarding the lottery

We worked to hard to develop a process that is fair, equitable, open and transparent – with built-in safeguards (including the public’s participation) to catch any errors. That system worked on Tuesday – enabling discrepancies to be detected and addressed without impacting the integrity of this process.

In our analysis on Wednesday, we identified the source of the problem. The data itself was accurate, but had been incorrectly sorted by the spreadsheet, creating errors in the lottery cards. Because of that, the lottery process started over from the beginning on Thursday.

City staff went through an exhaustive process on Wednesday to identify the source of the problem, create a new database, and cross-check all of the data, lists and lottery cards multiple times – with observers present. An hour before today’s lottery started, individuals and organizations requesting permits had the opportunity to review all of the lists and cards themselves, ensuring everything was correct. The process – involving more than 200 requests for more than 200 available slots in 12 venues – went smoothly.

Looks like it may be an interesting start to the convention.

Gov. Richardson endorses Obama

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Obama picked up a potentially big endorsement overnight from Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico:

"I believe he is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world," Richardson said in a statement obtained by the AP.

"As a presidential candidate, I know full well Sen. Obama's unique moral ability to inspire the American people to confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad in a spirit of bipartisanship and reconciliation."

Although, as Chris Bowers notes:

Seems like a big story, but at this point the real question is whether Richardson brings any superdelegates with him. Right now, there isn't much voting left, and at least six former Richardson supers are now with Clinton (all from New Mexico).

In New Mexico, it's Clinton 6, Obama 2, Undecided 3.

We should also note, that while it's gone back and forth this week, Obama has taken the lead in the delegate tracker in the left sidebar that assumes the Michigan and Florida delegations will be seated as is, without Obama getting any of the Michigan uncommitted votes. We understand that this is a scenario that is probably not likely to happen, but we've kept it as a "worst-case" scenario for Obama/"best-case" for Clinton, as well as just for historical reasons. See Florida and Michigan: By the Numbers for a number of scenarios, and we'll be adding more there in the next few days.

Update: Bill Richardson in February, on how superdelegates should vote:

“It should reflect the vote of my state, it should represent the vote of my constituency,” he said. ... Superdelegates should reflect their state or constituency.

Who won New Mexico? That would be Sen. Clinton.

Denver to try Park Permit Lottery again today

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If you saw our story yesterday about the Park Permit Lottery Mess you may be interested to know they're going to try again today

A lottery to determine which groups will receive permits to use Denver parks around the time of the Democratic National Convention in August is scheduled to take place Thursday.

The process was halted Tuesday as city officials responded to complaints that members of a protest group were left out of the process.

A member of Denver-based Recreate 68 says her name was left off applications for four of the five days she sought a permit for Civic Center Park in downtown Denver. City officials then suspended the lottery while they verified their lists.

The dispute added another hitch to the contentious race for access to public areas near the convention, which will be held at the Pepsi Center west of downtown August 25 through 28. - KKTV

One thing that hasn't been brought up is that the same protest group complaining of being left off the list admitted last week to applying multiple times for permits which is against the rules. Is that why they were originally left off the list?

A group that has promised a lively street scene of "old hippies," anarchists and others during the Democratic National Convention may have doubled its chances of getting a permit to protest in city parks.

Mark Cohen and his wife, Barbara, organizers for the Recreate 68 Alliance, have filed separate applications under different organizational names.

"I don't see anything unfair about it," Mark Cohen said Tuesday. "If (other organizations applying for permits) wanted to submit more than one application, they could, since the form allows people to submit as individuals."

But Erin Trapp, director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, which is accepting the applications, said the city has told organizations to submit one request per event. - RMN

Superdelegate Endorsement List

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Endorsements Dates

Here's a list of superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic Convention that have officially announced who they plan to nominate.

We have also created a list of superdelegates that have not committed to a candidate.

There are 823.5 total Democratic super delegate votes that the nominees are trying to be endorsed by. This consists of 792 superdelegates with full votes and 63 superdelegates with 1/2 votes (29 from MI, 26 from FL, 8 from DA), for 31.5 votes. We will continue to add the unpledged add-ons as soon as they are named by each state. (Note: Florida, Michigan and Democrats Abroad superdelegates get 1/2 vote each, so there are actually 855 superdelegates casting 823.5 votes).

From the Democratic Party Delegate Selection Rules:

UNPLEDGED AND PLEDGED PARTY LEADERS AND ELECTED OFFICIAL DELEGATES

1. The procedure to be used for certifying unpledged party leader and elected official delegates is as follows:
   Not later than March 1, 2008, the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee shall officially confirm to each State Democratic Chair the names of the following unpledged delegates who legally reside in their respective state and who shall be recognized as part of their state’s delegation unless any such member has publicly expressed support for the election of, or has endorsed, a presidential candidate of another political party;
   
   1. The individuals recognized as members of the DNC (as set forth in Article Three, Sections 2 and 3 of the Charter of the Democratic Party of the United States); and,
   
   
   2. The Democratic President and the Democratic Vice President of the United States, if applicable; and,
   
   
   3. All Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives and all Democratic members of the United States Senate; and,
   
   
   4. The Democratic Governor, if applicable; and,
   
   
   5. All former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee.

Note: While superdelegates must be certified by March 1, changes can be made up until the convention starts.

Super-delegates highlighted in red are from Michigan or Florida and do not count toward the nomination at this time.

Superdelegates highlighted in green have committed to voting for the delegate leader at the end of the primaries.

The official list of superdelegates as of May 15 can be found here.

Totals for each candidate can be seen in the Delegate Tracker in the left sidebar.

Clinton DNC Patti Higgins (AK) DNC Joe Reed (AL) DNC Randy Kelley (AL) DNC Yvonne Kennedy (AL) Gov. Togiola Tulafono (AS) DNC Fagafaga Langkilde (AS) DNC Deanna Fuimaono (AS) DNC Nathaniel Savali (AS) Rep. Ed Pastor (AZ) DNC Joe Rios (AZ) DNC Janice C. Brunson (AZ) DNC Carolyn Warner (AZ) Gov. Mike Beebe (AR) Sen. Mark Pryor (AR) Sen. Blanche Lincoln (AR) Rep. Marion Berry (AR) Rep. Mike Ross (AR) Rep. Vic Snyder (AR) DNC Don Beavers (AR) DNC Martha Dixon (AR) DNC Karla Bradley (AR) DNC Bill Gwatney (AR) Mark Wilcox (AR)# Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA) Rep. Joe Baca (CA) Rep. Doris Matsui (CA) Rep. Mike Thompson (CA) Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA) Rep. Jane Harman (CA) Rep. Grace Napolitano (CA) Rep. Laura Richardson (CA) Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) Rep. Brad Sherman (CA) Rep. Hilda Solis (CA) Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA) Rep. Diane Watson (CA) Rep. Loretta Sanchez (CA) Rep. Jackie Speier (CA) DNC Alice Huffman (CA) DNC Alicia Wang (CA) DNC Rosalind Wyman (CA) DNC Charles Manatt (CA) DNC Mona Pasquil (CA) DNC Mirian Saez (CA) DNC Hon. Maria Echaveste (CA) DNC Christopher Stampolis (CA) DNC Aleita Huguenin (CA) DNC Keith Umemoto (CA) Carolyn Doggett (CA)# Dario Frommer (CA)# Dora Rubio (CA)# DNC Manny Rodriguez (CO) DNC Maria Handley (CO) DNC Ramona Martinez (CO) DNC Ellen Camhi (CT) DNC John Olsen (CT) DNC Robert Bell (DA)* DNC Leo Perez Minaya (DA)* DNC Theresa Morelli (DA)* Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (DE) DNC Karen Valentine (DE) DNC Mary Eva Candon (DC) DNC Hartina Flournoy (DC) DNC Harold Ickes (DC) DNC Eric Kleinfeld (DC) DNC Minyon Moore (DC) DNC Elizabeth Smith (DC) DNC Marilyn Tyler Brown (DC) DNC Mona Mohib (DC) Sen. Bill Nelson (FL)* DNC Raul Martinez (FL)* DNC Chuck Mohlke (FL)* DNC Ken Curtis (FL)* DNC Jon Ausman (FL)* DNC Carole Dabbs (GA) DNC Lonnie Plott (GA) Verna Cleveland (GA)# DNC Taling Taitano (GU) DNC Pilar Lujan (GU) Sen. Daniel Inouye (HI) DNC Richard Port (HI) Sen. Evan Bayh (IN) Rep. Brad Ellsworth (IN) DNC Dan Parker (IN) DNC Phoebe Crane (IN) DNC Bob Pastrick (IN) Rep. Leonard Boswell (IA) DNC Sandy Opstvedt (IA) DNC Mike Gronstal (IA) DNC Teresa Krusor (KS) DNC Terry McBrayer (KY) DNC Jo Etta Wickliffe (KY) DNC Moretta Bosley (KY) DNC Renee Gill-Pratt (LA) DNC Chris Whittington (LA) Gov. John Baldacci (ME) Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD) Gov. Martin O'Malley (MD) Rep. CA Dutch Ruppersberger (MD) DNC Nancy Kopp (MD) DNC Glenard Middleton (MD) DNC Alvaro Cifuentes (MD) DNC Richard Michalski (MD) DNC Michael Steed (MD) DNC Maria Cordone (MD) DNC Carol Pensky (MD) Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (MD)# Rep. Richard Neal (MA) Rep. Jim McGovern (MA) Rep. Barney Frank (MA) Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA) DNC Steven Grossman (MA) DNC Debra DeLee (MA) DNC Gus Bickford (MA) DNC Dr. Elaine Kamarck (MA) DNC Diane Saxe (MA) Martha Coakley (MA)# Arthur Powell (MA)# Gov. Jennifer Granholm (MI)* Hon. John Cherry (MI)* Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI)* Rep. Sander Levin (MI)* DNC Joel Ferguson (MI)* Rep. Dale Kildee (MI)* Rep. John Dingell (MI)* DNC Jackie Stevenson (MN) Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (MO) Rep. Ike Skelton (MO) Fmr. Rep. Dick Gephardt (MO) DNC Doug Brooks (MO) DNC Sandy Querry (MO) Rep. Shelley Berkley (NV) DNC Dina Titus (NV) DNC Gaeten DiGangi (NH) DNC Anita Freedman (NH) Kathy Sullivan (NH)# Gov. Jon Corzine (NJ) Sen. Robert Menendez (NJ) Rep. Robert Andrews (NJ) Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ) Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ) Rep. Albio Sires (NJ) DNC Joseph DeCotiis (NJ) DNC Joe Cryan (NJ) DNC Tonio Burgos (NJ) DNC June Fisher (NJ) Jim Florio (NJ)# Brendan Byrne (NJ)# DNC Diane Denish (NM) DNC Martin Chavez (NM) DNC Mary Gail Gwaltney (NM) DNC Raymond Sanchez (NM) DNC Annadelle Sanchez (NM) DNC Christine Trujillo (NM) President Bill Clinton (NY) Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) Gov. David Paterson (NY) DNC June O'Neill (NY) DNC Reginald LaFayette (NY) DNC Randi Weingarten (NY) DNC Vivian Cook (NY) DNC Emily Giske (NY) DNC Judith Hope (NY) DNC Maria Luna (NY) DNC Sylvia Tokasz (NY) DNC Dennis Mehiel (NY) DNC Sheldon Silver (NY) DNC Irene Stein (NY) Carmen Arroyo (NY)# Virginia Fields (NY)# Tom DiNapoli (NY)# Andrew Cuomo (NY)# Richard Schaffer (NY) DNC Robert Zimmerman (NY) DNC Roberto Ramirez (NY) DNC Herman Farrell Jr. (NY) Gov. Mike Easley (NC) Rep. Heath Shuler (NC) DNC Susan Burgess (NC) Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH) DNC William Burga (OH) William Bashein (OH)# DNC Betty McElderry (OK) Gov. Ted Kulongoski (OR) Rep. Darlene Hooley (OR) Gov. Ed Rendell (PA) Rep. Chris Carney (PA) Rep. John Murtha (PA) Rep. Joe Sestak (PA) Rep. Allyson Schwartz (PA) Rep. Paul Kanjorski (PA) DNC Hon. TJ Rooney (PA) DNC Rena Baumgartner (PA) DNC Marcel Groen (PA) DNC Jean Milko (PA) DNC Evelyn Richardson (PA) DNC Gerald McEntee (PA) DNC Ruth Rudy (PA) DNC Sophie Masloff (PA) DNC Ronald Donatucci (PA) DNC William George (PA) DNC Roberto Prats (PR) DNC Kenneth McClintock (PR) DNC Francisco Domenech (PR) DNC Luisette Cabanas (PR) Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) Rep. Jim Langevin (RI) DNC Grace Diaz (RI) DNC David Cicilline (RI) DNC William Lynch (RI) DNC Mark Weiner (RI) Edna O'Neill Mattson (RI) Hon. Frank Montanaro (RI) DNC Don Fowler (SC) DNC Marva Smalls (SC) DNC Cheryl Chapman (SD) Sen. Tim Johnson (SD) Rep. John Tanner (TN) DNC Bill Owen (TN) DNC Elisa Parker (TN) DNC Hon. Myron Lowery (TN) DNC Jimmie Farris (TN) Vicky Harwell (TN)# Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX) DNC Sue Lovell (TX) Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (TX) Rep. Silvestre Reyes (TX) Rep. Gene Green (TX) Rep. Solomon Ortiz (TX) Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (TX) Former Speaker Jim Wright (TX) DNC Norma Fisher Flores (TX) DNC David Holmes (TX) DNC Bob Slagle (TX) DNC Jaime Gonzalez Jr. (TX) DNC Robert Martinez (TX) DNC Terry McAuliffe (VA) DNC Lionel Spruill Sr. (VA) DNC Mame Reiley (VA) DNC Susan Swecker (VA) Barbara Easterling (VA) Del. Donna M Christensen (VI) DNC Kevin Rodriquez (VI) Sen. Patty Murray (WA) Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA) DNC Eileen Macoll (WA) Rep. Tammy Baldwin (WI) DNC Tim Sullivan (WI) DNC Marie Prezioso (WV) DNC Pat Maroney (WV) DNC Belinda Biafore (WV) DNC Cynthia Nunley (WY)

Obama DNC John Davies (AK) DNC Blake Johnson (AK) DNC Cindy Spanyers (AK) Tony Knowles (AK)# Rep. Artur Davis (AL) Stewart Burkhalter (AL)# Del. Eni FH Faleomavaga (AS) Theresa Hunkin (AS) Gov. Janet Napolitano (AZ) Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (AZ) Rep. Harry Mitchell (AZ) Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ) DNC Charlene Fernandez (AZ) Terry Goddard (AZ)# DNC Don Bivens (AZ) Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA) Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA) Rep. Xavier Becerra (CA) Rep. Barbara Lee (CA) Rep. Adam Schiff (CA) Rep. George Miller (CA) Rep. Henry Waxman (CA) Rep. Howard Berman (CA) Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA) Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA) Rep. Lois Capps (CA) Rep. Pete Stark (CA) Rep. Jim Costa (CA) Rep. Dennis Cardoza (CA) Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA) Rep. Sam Farr (CA) Rep. Bob Filner (CA) Rep. Maxine Waters (CA) Rep. Susan Davis (CA) DNC Hon. Eric Garcetti (CA) DNC Norma Torres (CA) DNC Jeremy Bernard (CA) DNC Mary Ellen Early (CA) DNC Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker (CA) DNC Steven Alari (CA) DNC Inola Henry (CA) DNC Edward Espinoza (CA) DNC Vernon Watkins (CA) DNC Crystal Strait (CA) DNC John Perez (CA) DNC Kamil Hasan (CA) DNC Garry Shay (CA) DNC Rachel Binah (CA) DNC Christine Pelosi (CA) DNC Robert Rankin (CA) William Quay Hays (CA)# Lou Paulson (CA)# Gov. Bill Ritter (CO) Sen. Ken Salazar (CO) Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO) Rep. John Salazar (CO) Rep. Mark Udall (CO) Rep. Diana DeGette (CO) DNC Pat Waak (CO) DNC Dan Slater (CO) DNC Debbie Marquez (CO) DNC JW Postal (CO) DPL Roy Romer (CO) Federico Pena (CO)# Sen. Chris Dodd (CT) Rep. Chris Murphy (CT) Rep. John Larson (CT) Rep. Joe Courtney (CT) DNC Stephen Fontana (CT) DNC Martin Dunleavy (CT) Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT) Anthony Avallone (CT) DNC Nancy DiNardo (CT) Don Williams (CT)# Sen. Tom Carper (DE) DNC John Daniello (DE) DNC Harriet Smith-Windsor (DE) DNC Rhett Ruggerio (DE) Rob Carver (DE)# Toby Condliffe (DA)* DNC Liv Gibbons (DA)* DNC Brent O'Leary (DA)* DNC Connie Borde (DA)* DNC Christine Marques (DA)* Mayor Adrian Fenty (DC) Sen. Michael Brown (DC) Sen. Paul Strauss (DC) Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) DNC Dr. James Zogby (DC) DNC Arrington Dixon (DC) DNC Jeffrey Richardson (DC) DNC Anna Burger (DC) DNC Ben Johnson (DC) DNC Yolanda Caraway (DC) Yvette Alexander(DC)# Harry Thomas Jr.(DC)# DNC Anita Bonds (DC) DNC Larry Cohen (DC) Rep. Robert Wexler (FL)* Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL)* Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (FL)* Rep. Corrine Brown (FL)* Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (FL)* Rep. Ron Klein (FL)* DNC Allan Katz (FL)* DNC Joyce Cusack (FL)* Rep. Kathy Castor (FL)* DNC Janee Murphy (FL)* DNC Diane Glasser (FL)* DNC Mitchell Ceasar (FL)* Dan Gelber (FL)#* Pres. Jimmy Carter (GA) Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA) Rep. Hank Johnson (GA) Rep. John Lewis (GA) Rep. David Scott (GA) Rep. John Barrow (GA) DNC Richard Ray (GA) DNC Michael Thurmond (GA) DNC Mary Long (GA) DNC Jane Kidd (GA) Stephen Leeds (GA)# Jaime Paulino (GU) DNC Ben Pangelinan (GU) Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (GU) Sen. Daniel Akaka (HI) Rep. Neil Abercrombie (HI) Rep. Mazie Hirono (HI) DNC Dolly Strazar (HI) DNC Brian Schatz (HI) DNC Kari Luna (HI) James Burns (HI)# DNC R. Keith Roark (ID) DNC Hon. Gail Bray (ID) DNC Grant Burgoyne (ID) DNC Jeanne Buell (ID) Gov. Rod Blagojevich (IL) Sen. Barack Obama (IL) Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) Rep. Melissa Bean (IL) Rep. Jerry Costello (IL) Rep. Danny Davis (IL) Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL) Rep. Phil Hare (IL) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL) Rep. Bobby Rush (IL) Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL) Rep. Bill Foster (IL) Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL) Rep. Rahm Emanuel (IL) DNC Constance Howard (IL) DNC Margaret Blackshere (IL) DNC Hon. Emil Jones Jr. (IL) DNC Hon. Iris Martinez (IL) DNC Tom Hynes (IL) DNC Willie Barrow (IL) DNC Michael Madigan (IL) DNC John Rednour (IL) DNC Steve Powell (IL) DNC Darlena Williams-Burnett (IL) DNC Margie Woods (IL) DNC Carol Ronen (IL) Richard Daley (IL)# Barbara Flynn Currie (IL)# Todd Stroger (IL)# Rep. Andre Carson (IN) Rep. Baron Hill (IN) Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN) Rep. Peter Visclosky (IN) DNC Cordelia Lewis Burks (IN) DNC Connie Thurman (IN) DNC Joe Andrew (IN) Gov. Chet Culver (IA) Sen. Tom Harkin (IA) Rep. Bruce Braley (IA) Rep. Dave Loebsack (IA) DNC Michael Fitzgerald (IA) DNC Sarah Swisher (IA) DNC Richard Machacek (IA) DNC Scott Brennan (IA) Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (KS) Rep. Dennis Moore (KS) DNC Larry Gates (KS) DNC E. Lee Kinch (KS) DNC Randy Roy (KS) Mark Parkinson (KS)# Gov. Steve Beshear (KY) Rep. John Yarmuth (KY) Rep. Ben Chandler (KY) DNC Helen Knetzer (KS) Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA) Rep. William Jefferson (LA) DNC Claude "Buddy" Leach (LA) DNC Patsy Arcenaux (LA) DNC Ben Jeffers (LA) Ray Nagin (LA)# Rep. Tom Allen (ME) Rep. Michael Michaud (ME) DNC John Knutson (ME) DNC Marianne Stevens (ME) DNC Jennifer DeChant (ME) DNC Sam Spencer (ME) Gwethalyn Phillips (ME)# Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD) Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD) Rep. John Sarbanes (MD) DNC Michael Cryor (MD) DNC Lauren Glover (MD) DNC Karren Pope-Onwukwe (MD) DNC Janice Griffin (MD) DNC Mary Jo Neville (MD) DNC John Gage (MD) DNC Greg Pecoraro (MD) DNC Belkis Leong-Hong (MD) DNC Heather Mizeur (MD) Parris Glendening (MD)# Gov. Deval Patrick (MA) Sen. John Kerry (MA) Sen. Ted Kennedy (MA) Rep. William Delahunt (MA) Rep. Michael Capuano (MA) Rep. John Olver (MA) Rep. Nikki Tsongas (MA) DNC John Walsh (MA) DNC Margaret Xifaras (MA) DNC Raymond Jordan (MA) DNC David O'Brien (MA) DNC Alan Solomont (MA) DNC Paul Kirk (MA) DNC Debra Kozikowski (MA) Rep. Bart Stupak (MI)* Rep. John Conyers (MI)* Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI)* DNC Lauren Wolfe (MI)* DNC Robert Ficano (MI)* DNC Eric Coleman (MI)* DNC Virgie Rollins (MI)* DNC Brenda Lawrence (MI)* DNC Lu Battaglieri (MI)* DNC Joyce Lalonde (MI)* DNC Debbie Dingell (MI)* DNC Richard Wiener (MI)* DNC Kwame Kilpatrick (MI)* DNC Tina Abbott (MI)* DNC Michael Tardiff (MI)* Jim Hoffa (MI)# VP Walter Mondale (MN) Sen. Amy Klobuchar(MN) Rep. Jim Oberstar (MN) Rep. Keith Ellison (MN) Rep. Tim Walz (MN) Rep. Betty McCollum (MN) DNC Rick Stafford (MN) DNC Mee Moua (MN) DNC Ken Foxworth (MN) DNC Brian Melendez (MN) DNC Donna Cassutt (MN) DNC Nancy Larson (MN) Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS) DNC Johnnie Patton (MS) DNC Everett Sanders (MS) DNC Carnelia Fondren (MS) DNC Wayne Dowdy (MS) Sen. Claire McCaskill (MO) Rep. Russ Carnahan (MO) Rep. Lacy Clay (MO) Mark Bryant (MO) DNC Maria Chappelle-Nadal (MO) DNC Yolanda Wheat (MO) DNC John Temporiti (MO) DNC Robin Carnahan (MO) Jay Nixon (MO)# Susan Montee (MO)# Gov. Brian Schweitzer (MT) Sen. Max Baucus (MT) Sen. Jon Tester (MT) DNC Margarett Campbell (MT) DNC Ed Tinsley (MT) DNC John Melcher (MT) DNC Jean Lemire Dahlman (MT) DNC Dennis McDonald (MT) Sen. Ben Nelson (NE) DNC Vince Powers (NE) DNC Steven Achelpohl (NE) DNC Frank LaMere (NE) DNC Kathleen Fahey (NE) DNC Audra Ostergard (NE) Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ) Rep. Steve Rothman (NJ) Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) Rep. Donald Payne (NJ) DNC Christine "Roz" Samuels (NJ) DNC Donald Norcross (NJ) DNC Dana Redd (NJ) Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) DNC Steven Horsford (NV) DNC Teresa Benitez-Thompson (NV) DNC Yvonne Gates (NV) DNC Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) DNC Sam Lieberman (NV) Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH) Rep. Paul Hodes (NH) DNC Raymond Buckley (NH) DNC Hon. Martha Fuller Clark (NH) Gov. Bill Richardson (NM) Sen. Jeff Bingaman (NM) Fmr DNC Chair Fred Harris (NM) Rep. Tom Udall (NM) DNC Brian Colon (NM) Laurie Weahkee (NM)# Rep. Gary Ackerman (NY) Rep. Michael Arcuri (NY) Rep. Timothy Bishop (NY) Rep. Joseph Crowley (NY) Rep. Eliot Engel (NY) Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) Rep. John Hall (NY) Rep. Brian Higgins (NY) Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY) Rep. Steve Israel (NY) Rep. Nita Lowey (NY) Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY) Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (NY) Rep. Michael McNulty (NY) Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY) Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY) Rep. Charles Rangel (NY) Rep. Jose Serrano (NY) Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY) Rep. Edolphus Towns (NY) Rep. Nydia Velazquez (NY) Rep. Anthony Weiner (NY) Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (NY) DNC Marianne Spraggins (NY) Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC) Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC) Rep. G.K. Butterfield (NC) Rep. David Price (NC) Rep. Mel Watt (NC) Rep. Brad Miller (NC) DNC Everett Ward (NC) DNC Dannie Montgomery (NC) DNC Joyce Brayboy (NC) DNC Jeanette Council (NC) DNC Jerry Meek (NC) DNC David Parker (NC) DNC Muriel Offerman (NC) Sen. Kent Conrad (ND) Sen. Byron Dorgan (ND) Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND) DNC David Strauss (ND) DNC Jim Maxson (ND) DNC Renee Pfenning (ND) DNC Mary Wakefield (ND) Dan Hannaher (ND)# Gov. Ted Strickland (OH) Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH) Rep. Betty Sutton (OH) Rep. Zach Space (OH) Rep. Tim Ryan (OH) DNC Chris Redfern (OH) DNC David Wilhelm (OH) DNC Sonni Nardi (OH) DNC Mark Mallory (OH) DNC Rhine McLin (OH) DNC Enid Goubeaux (OH) DNC Joyce Beatty (OH) Dave Regan (OH)# Gov. Brad Henry (OK) DNC Kitti Asberry - (OK) DNC Mike Morgan (OK) DNC Kalyn Free (OK) DNC Jay Parmley (OK) DNC Ivan Holmes (OK) Reggie Whitten (OK)# Sen. Ron Wyden (OR) Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR) Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR) Rep. David Wu (OR) DNC Jenny Greenleaf (OR) DNC Meredith Woods-Smith (OR) DNC Wayne Kinney (OR) DNC Gail Rasmussen (OR) DNC Frank Dixon (OR) DNC Bill Bradbury (OR) Sen. Bob Casey (PA) Rep. Mike Doyle (PA) Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA) Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA) Rep. Bob Brady (PA) Rep. Jason Altmire (PA) DNC Carol Ann Campbell (PA) DNC Leon Lynch (PA) DNC Ian Murray (PA) Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (PR) Dr. Celita Arroyo de Roques (PR) Sen. Jack Reed (RI) Rep. Patrick Kennedy (RI) DNC Patrick Lynch (RI) Rep. James Clyburn (SC) Rep. John Spratt (SC) DNC Waring Howe Jr. (SC) DNC Carol Fowler (SC) DNC Wilbur Lee Jeffcoat (SC) Inez Tenenbaum (SC)# Fmr Sen. Tom Daschle (SD) Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD) DNC Jack Billion (SD) DNC Sharon Stroschein (SD) DNC Nicholas Nemec (SD) Gov. Phil Bredesen (TN) Rep. Jim Cooper (TN) Rep. Steve Cohen (TN) DNC Lois DeBerry (TN) DNC Will Cheek (TN) DNC Gray Sasser (TN) DNC Inez Crutchfield (TN) DNC (Rep.) Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) Rep. Chet Edwards (TX) Rep. Al Green (TX) Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX) Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (TX) DNC Al Edwards (TX) DNC Rep. Hon. Yvonne Davis (TX) DNC Moses Mercado (TX) DNC Senfronia Thompson (TX) DNC Roy LaVerne Brooks (TX) DNC John Patrick (TX) DNC Boyd Richie (TX) DNC Betty Richie (TX) Rep. Jim Matheson (UT) DNC Wayne Holland Jr. (UT) DNC Karen Hale (UT) DNC Bill Orton (UT) DNC Helen Langan (UT) Kristi Cumming (UT)# Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT) Rep. Peter Welch (VT) DNC Ian Carleton (VT) DNC Chuck Ross Jr. (VT) DNC Judy Bevans (VT) DNC Billi Gosh (VT) Gov. Tim Kaine (VA) Sen. Jim Webb (VA) Rep. Bobby Scott (VA) Rep. Jim Moran (VA) DNC Jennifer McClellan (VA) DNC Dick Cranwell (VA) DNC Joe Johnson (VA) Rick Boucher (VA) DNC Jerome Wiley Segovia (VA) DNC Jim Leaman (VA) Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr. (VI) Cecil Benjamin (VI) DNC Carol Burke (VI) Former House Speaker Tom Foley (WA) Rep. Jay Inslee (WA) Rep. Adam Smith (WA) Rep. Brian Baird (WA) Rep. Rick Larsen (WA) DNC Pat Notter (WA) Gov. Christine Gregoire (WA) Rep. Norm Dicks (WA) Rep. Jim McDermott (WA) DNC Dwight Pelz (WA) DNC David McDonald (WA) DNC Ron Sims (WA) DNC Ed Cote (WA) DNC Sharon Mast (WA) Gov. Joe Manchin (WV) Sen. Jay Rockefeller (WV) Sen. Robert Byrd (WV) Rep. Nick Rahall (WV) Rep. Alan Mollohan (WV) DNC Nick Casey (WV) Gov. Jim Doyle (WI) Sen. Russ Feingold (WI) Sen. Herb Kohl (WI) Rep. Gwen Moore (WI) Rep. David Obey (WI) Rep. Ron Kind (WI) Rep. Steve Kagen (WI) DNC Stan Gruszynski (WI) DNC Jason Rae (WI) DNC Joe Wineke (WI) DNC Melissa Schroeder (WI) DNC Awais Khaleel (WI) DNC Lena Taylor (WI) DNC Paula Zellner (WI) Gov. Dave Freudenthal (WY) DNC Peter Jorgenson (WY) DNC John Millin (WY) DNC Nancy Drummond (WY) W. Patrick Goggles (WY)#

* Superdelegates from Florida, Michigan and Democrats Abroad only count as 1/2 of a vote.
# Add-on Superdelegates

Notes: All notes and endorsement dates can be found here.

Stay tuned... we'll update this list as we find out more.

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Superdelegates who haven't committed to a candidate

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This page has been frozen as of June 6, 2008.

We have a list of superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic Convention who have officially endorsed a candidate but who is left? Who hasn't made an official endorsement?

Let's take a look at which Democratic superdelegates haven't committed to a candidate yet. Along with our superdelegate list we will be updating this list as new endorsements are made.
This will be an ongoing work in progress so check back often for updates.

Note: As superdelegates have gained the spotlight quite a few of them have started to rethink their previous endorsements. More and more superdelegates are starting to announce that they will not commit to a candidate until they see how either their constituents vote or what the results of the primaries are.

Superdelegates highlighted in red are from Michigan or Florida and do not count toward the nomination at this time.

Superdelegates highlighted in green have committed to voting for the delegate leader at the end of the primaries.

Representatives Bud Cramer (AL) Nancy Pelosi (CA) Mike Honda (CA) Allen Boyd (FL)* Tim Mahoney (FL)* Jim Marshall (GA) Nancy Boyda (KS) Charlie Melancon (LA) Don Cazayoux (LA) Steny Hoyer (MD) John Tierney (MA) Edward Markey (MA) Collin Peterson (MN) Gene Taylor (MS) Rep. Travis Childers (MS) Charlie Wilson (OH) Marcia Kaptur (OH) Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH) Rep. Dan Boren (OK) Tim Holden (PA) Lincoln Davis (TN) Bart Gordon (TN) Nick Lampson (TX) Distinguished Party Leaders (DPLs) Al Gore (TN) Fmr. Senator and Majority Leader George Mitchell (NY) Fmr. DNC Chair Bob Strauss (TX)

Senators Joe Biden (DE) Carl Levin (MI)* Governors John Lynch (NH) Add-Ons Alex Sink (FL)#* Steve Geller (FL)#* Rusty McAllister (NV)# Jerry Lee (TN)# 31 Unnamed Add-Ons

DNC Members Joe Turnham (AL) Nancy Worley (AL) Lottie Shackleford (AR) Art Torres (CA) Hon. Carole Migden (CA) Bob Mulholland (CA) Steve Ybarra (CA) Donna Brazile (DC) Christine Warnke (DC) Karen Thurman (FL)* Rudolph Parker (FL)* Terrie Brady (FL)* Andrew Tobias (FL)* Edward Smith (IL) Vacant (IL) Jennifer Moore (KY) Nathan Smith (KY) Elsie Burkhalter (LA) Susan Turnbull (MD) John Sweeney (MD) James Roosevelt Jr (MA) Elizabeth Bunn (MI)* Jeffrey Radjewski (MI)* Mark Brewer (MI)* Richard Shoemaker (MI)* Leila Medley (MO) Philip D. Murphy (NJ) Ralph Dawson (NY) Carol Peterson (NC) Ronald Malone (OH) Patricia Moss (OH) Jim Frasier (OK) Eliseo Roques-Arroyo (PR) Hon. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC) David Hardt (TX) Denise Johnson (TX) Linda Chavez -Thompson (TX) Hon. Alexis Herman (VA) Howard Dean (VT) Alice Germond (WV) Marylyn Stapleton (VI) Vacant - 1 (At-large) Vacant - 2 (At-large)

* Superdelegates from Florida, Michigan and Democrats Abroad count as 1/2 of a vote.
# Add-on Superdelegates

Notes:
2/7/08 - Removed Hon. Joan Fitz-Gerald (CO) from the list as she is no longer a member of the DLCC
2/19/08 - Donna Branch Gilby resigned as vice-chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. Her spot is now Vacant.
2/20/08 - Teresa Benitez-Thompson replaced Jill Derby as a Nevada superdelegate
2/29/08 - Changed PA DNC member from "Richard Donatucci" to "Ronald Donatucci"
3/6/08 - Added Mark Wilcox as Arkansas' add-on superdelegate. He's officially uncommitted.
3/11/08 - Added Cheryl Chapman as the SD Vice Chair (previously vacant). She was elected on February 16th. Added Andre Carson (IN). Total number of supers is 796.
3/16/08 - Added Vicky Harwell and Jerry Lee as Tennessee's 2 add-on superdelegates.
3/17/08 - Added DNC John Melcher (MT) who was seated on the National Democratic Seniors Coordinating Council and Mayor Brenda Lawrence (MI)* who was seated on the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. Both seats were previously vacant.
Replaced Rita Moran of Maine with Jennifer Dechant.
4/3/08 - Added DC add-on superdelegates Yvette Alexander(DC)# and Harry Thomas Jr.(DC)#
4/5/08 - Added MO add-on superdelegate Jay Nixon (MO)#, and Florida add-on superdelegates Alex Sink (FL)#*, Steve Geller (FL)#*, Dan Gelber (FL)#*. MO add-on Susan Montee, and DE add-on Rob Carver have been added to the Obama list.
4/6/08 Replaced Mary Lou Winters (Clinton) with Elsie Burkhalter as DNC member from LA. Burkhalter is being placed on the uncommitted list as of now.
4/9/08 - Added Rep. Jackie Speier (CA), new congresswoman from California.
4/27/08 - Added addon Terry Goddard (AZ)# and addon Laurie Weahkee (NM)#. Addon Kathy Sullivan(NH)# was added to the Clinton list.
4/28/08 - Removed Guam's Robert Underwood, Chair (Antonio Charfauros) and vice-chair (Cecilia Mafnas). Positions are now vacant.
5/5/08 - Previously added party chair Pilar Lujan (GU), and adding new DNC member Ben Pangelinan (GU). New Guam vice-chair Jaime Paulino previously added to Obama list.
5/10/08 - Added OH add-on William Bashein (OH)#. Added MA add-on Martha Coakley (MA)#.
5/13/08 - Added Rep. Travis Childers (MS) who won a special election run-off in a heavily Republican district.
5/17/08 - Added NV add-on Rusty McAllister (NV)#.

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Superdelegate primary dies a quick death

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Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen proposed a "superdelegate primary" today:

Here’s what our party should do: schedule a superdelegate primary. In early June, after the final primaries, the Democratic National Committee should call together our superdelegates in a public caucus.
...
It is a call for a tight, two-day business-like gathering, whose rules would be devised by the national committee, of the leaders of our party from all over America to resolve a serious problem. There would be a final opportunity for the candidates to make their arguments to these delegates, and then one transparent vote.

Well, the trial balloon burst quickly:

The idea of having a primary among superdelegates isn't gaining a lot of traction.

A spokeswoman says Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean doesn't endorse the idea.

Hyatt Regency named as official headquarters hotel for the 2008 Demcoratic Naitonal Convention

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This just in from the DNCC:

The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today announced its selection of the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center as the official headquarters hotel for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, to be held August 25-28, 2008. In that capacity, the Hyatt Regency Denver will serve as the base of operations for the DNCC, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the presidential campaign.

"Outside the Pepsi Center, the Hyatt Regency Denver will serve as the primary nerve center for our Convention operations - our home away from home during an incredibly important week," said Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. "Since our team's arrival in Denver, the Hyatt Regency team has been nothing but warm and welcoming, and I know they'll offer this same level of service, professionalism and hospitality to our Convention team in August. This hotel is well-known for forging strong relationships with the Denver community, and we're proud to now call them our partner too."

The hotel will be used to conduct official business and as a meeting place for Convention organizers. Its central location makes it an ideal home base, given its proximity to the Colorado Convention Center and the Pepsi Center.

"Hyatt is honored to be chosen as the headquarters hotel for the Democratic National Convention. We are excited to have the Democrats back in Denver, Colorado for the first time since 1908 and will make sure all of our guests experience the warm Rocky Mountain hospitality that our city is known for," said John Schafer, General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Denver.

Today's announcement marks the latest in a series of DNCC housing assignments allocating the 17,000 rooms in some 100 hotels reserved for delegates, alternates, media and members of the Democratic family. In November, the DNCC announced the list of area hotels selected to house some 5,000 delegates during Convention week. State delegations were assigned to 27 hotels in one of three clusters - Downtown, Stapleton and the Denver Tech Center - all within 20 minutes of the Pepsi Center.

Michigan revote won't happen

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From Ben Smith at Politico:

'Do-over is dead'

The headline from MIRS, Michigan's Hotline:

Ding-Dong, Do-Over Primary Is Dead
"Time of death for the do-over Michigan primary? Call it at about 11 a.m. today."

A Lansing insider IMs to explain the latest development:

The Senate Dems just had a long caucus meeting following their long phone call with the Gang of Four [as Carl Levin and others pushing a re-vote are called], and the result is that no one moved. Votes aren't there. Thus, it will not go to a vote in the Senate. And barring some other last minute miracle that doesn't involve those four, the Governor, and Hillary traveling to Michigan, it is dead as a doornail.

UPDATE: State Senator Tupac Hunter, an Obama supporter, confirms the outcome of today's meeting.

"The caucus has expressed again today that there is concern about the proposal and a great deal of unreadiness," he said, saying that sentiment is still "overwhelming."

"We informed the four great Democrats who have worked very hard to come up with a solution," he said. "It’s one of those things where you can agree to disagree. The question then becomes, What do we do now?"

With Florida and now Michigan shooting down a possible re-vote the scenarios in our FL and MI by the numbers delegate tracker are getting smaller.

Update: The primary may be "really dead", but is it "truly most sincerely dead"?:

But oddly enough, I'm told that private conversations are continuing right now between officials at the Democratic National Committee, the Michigan Democratic party, and the Hillary and Obama campaigns over ways to salvage some kind of last minute solution.

And the Clinton campaign has found the money to pay for it:

Ed Rendell and Jon Corzine, two governors who back Hillary, write Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm with "a list of individuals who, combined, are prepared to serve as guarantors to ensure that a total of up to $12 million will be deposited in the State of Michigan Presidential Primary Administration Fund by April 17, 2008.

Convention Park Permit Mess

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Seems that several groups that applied for park permits weren't on the board for the lotteries

Denver's new system for issuing permits to occupy parks during the 2008 Democratic National Convention ran aground as it began Tuesday, delaying the process for two more days.

Several applicants for the coveted Civic Center park discovered that their names had been omitted from a pile of cards that were to be drawn from a clear, plastic lottery box. Another applicant for another park was awarded a permit for a day he hadn't requested.

Protest groups critical of the new system seized on the blunder, accusing the city of unfairness and incompetence.

"I think it's a disgrace," said Glenn Spagnuolo, an organizer with the protest group Re-create 68. "They had all this time to figure it out, and they still couldn't get it right." - Denver Post

The lottery was immediately halted. Had they continued we may have seen convention rioting before the convention even started.

Michigan revote looking less likely

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Looks like Michigan isn't going to revote either:

Senate Democrats emerged from a closed-door caucus this morning and proclaimed that a fledging idea floated by top Michigan Democrats to create a special June 3 primary election is all but dead."The votes aren't there to do it," said Sen. Buzz THOMAS (D-Detroit), the co-chair of the Barack OBAMA campaign in Michigan

Sen. Gretchen WHITMER, a supporter of Hillary CLINTON, also conceded the chances of a June 3 redo of the Democratic presidential primary were slim. She stopped short of declaring it dead, saying instead that it was "on life support" and in need of CPR.

But the Clinton campaign, realizing Michigan is critical to their efforts to catch Obama in the delegate count, is not giving up:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is adding a quick trip to Detroit to her Wednesday campaign schedule in a high-profile push for a primary contest re-vote there so Michigan’s delegates are counted in the Democratic nomination fight. “We will go and make the case for a re-vote,” said Mo Elleithee, a Clinton spokesman.

See Florida and Michigan By The Numbers to see how the delegate math plays out in the different scenarios.

McCain speech could be up against NFL opener

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We noted last month that John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on September 4th could conflict with the opening game of the NFL season. At the time the NFL schedule was not clear. And the comments on that post thought it would not be an issue:

• "The season isn't moving anywhere, nor is the game going to get canceled"
• "All of the alternatives listed are ridiculous at best."
• I don't think its a big issue..."
• Oh, Puh-leeze! Football is a money-maker for the networks. Political conventions are not.

But we wrote in that post:

This is a big problem for NBC and the NFL. NBC pays a lot of money to show NFL games. But there's no way they would take the political heat and not show McCain's speech, and its unlikely the NFL would want to take the heat either. Yes, the speech would be available on the other networks, but the football game would attract a major audience, and the GOP, would, and appropriately so, raise a big stink.

It just not politically tenable for a major network not to show the acceptance speech of one of the two major candidates.

And we now have confirmation that the NFL season is scheduled to start on September 4th, and that the NFL is aware that something needs to be done:

"We are aware of it and will be discussing it with NBC," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello (who grew up in Syosset) wrote in an e-mail.

Now Neil Best, the who writes a great sports media blog for Newsday, did call some of the options on the previous post "ludicrous". They may be, but one of those options, or something even more abnormal, will have to be done to prevent the conflict.

Interested in joining DCW?

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We're looking for a new blogger to join the team here at 2008 Democratic Convention Watch. Must have experience blogging, be a partisan Democrat, but be able to stay neutral in your posts on a certain presidential nomination contest. Must also have the ability to post during daytime hours, especially when news breaks.

You'll be quizzed on who the add-on delegates from Tennessee are, why Ken Curtis should have never left Maine, what hotel will the Michigan delegation be staying at if they are seated, when did Joe Lieberman really lose his superdelegate status, and why Mike Bloomberg didn't really want the Democratic Convention in New York. Just kidding. Sort of...

Send an email to us (email address in the right sidebar), and include a couple of links to your blog posts. (Diaries or even extensive comments at Kos or other sites are fine).

A Guide to DemConWatch

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Welcome to DemConWatch (formerly 2008 Democratic Convention Watch), the premier independent web site for all the information you need about the Transition, Inauguration and the 2010 and 2012 elections.

DemConWatch broke the news about Obama moving his speech to Invesco Field and continues to be a leader in the news your looking for regarding the Democratic Party and the elections.

Here's a guide to what's on the site:

• DemConWatch Inauguration Calendar - We're compiling the most complete schedule of events for the Inauguration available.
  
  
• Presidential Appointees Requiring Senate Confirmation
  
  
• Presidential Appointees Not Requiring Senate Confirmation
  
  
• Superdelegate Endorsement List - The first, and still best and most accurate, list of superdelegate endorsements available on the web. No endorsement is added without a verifiable reference to the superdelegate actually stating who they endorse. We don't add an endorsement based on pure media lists - we've found too many mistakes.
  
  
• No Endorse List - Who's left - which superdelegates still haven't made up their mind.
  
  
• Add-on List and Schedule - A complete list of the selected add-on superdelegates and the schedule for future selections.
  
  
• Superdelegate History Tracker - Charts and graphs of endorsements by week since mid-January.
  
  
• Superdelegates by Position - Breakdown by Governors, Senators, etc.
  
  
• Superdelegate Ups and Downs - Changes in the number of superdelegates since December.
  
  
• Ultimate Delegate Summary - where does the race for the nomination stand
  
  
• Ultimate Delegate Tracker - Pledged delegates by state and media organation, all on one page
  
  
• Florida and Michigan By The Numbers - what's the delegate count for any Florida and Michigan option
  

How to Find What You're Looking For:

There are 3 ways to find information at DCW: There's a search box at the upper left of the screen, which searches the whole blog. In the right sidebar there's a dropdown where you can search by tags. And the left sidebar contains a full archive of the posts.

Who we are:

DemConWatch is run by a group of part-time bloggers. We are all avid Democrats. This site is not affiliated with the DNC, DNCC, or any campaign.

Florida won't have a revote

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Florida wants the DNC to count their primary votes as-is and will not hold another election.

Last week, the Florida Democratic Party laid out the only existing way that we can comply with DNC Rules – a statewide revote run by the Party – and asked for input.

Thousands of people responded. We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn’t want to vote again.

So we won’t.

A party-run primary or caucus has been ruled out, and it’s simply not possible for the state to hold another election, even if the Party were to pay for it. Republican Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio refuses to even consider that option. Florida is finally moving to paper ballots, which is a good thing, but it means that at least 15 counties do not have the capacity to handle a major election before the June 10th DNC primary deadline.

This doesn’t mean that Democrats are giving up on Florida voters. It means that a solution will have to come from the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, which is scheduled to meet again in April. - The Page

See where the delegate race stands at our Florida and Michigan By The Numbers post where we break down delegates using several different scenarios.

Michigan Governor Granholm proposes a June 3rd primary

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Ben Smith at Politico is reporting that Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is calling for a June 3rd Primary.

"Designate June 3, 2008 as the date of a state presidential primary election in Michigan. The election would be conducted in the same manner as a regular election in Michigan, except for procedures specific to presidential primaries such as party ballot selection. "

Montana and South Dakota's primaries will also be held on June 3rd. These would be the final primaries of the season unless Florida jumps in at a later date. Update - Florida will not have a revote


You can get a better feel for how Michigan and/or Florida could change the race in our Florida and Michigan by the numbers tracker should they decide to have a revote.
One other thing to keep an eye on is the fact that Obama only trails Clinton by one delegate should Michigan and Florida's primaries stand as-is.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Denver held it's St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday. They call it the largest St. Patrick's Day Parade west of the Mississippi.

The three-hour parade kicked off at 10 a.m. with about 236 entries — bagpipers, step dancers and marching bands — with 10,000 marchers.

The parade included several local politicians. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper rode in a little white electric powered truck.

Representative Diana Degette (CO-1), a superdelegate and Clinton supporter, was also there.

Tennessee add-on superdelegates named

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We welcome to the circle of superdelegates 2 add-ons from Tennessee:

Vicky Harwell of Pulaski, who is president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women, and Jerry Lee of Nashville, president of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council.

Here's what's interesting. There have been writers at OpenLeft and TPM who have "assigned" the add-ons to each candidate based on who won the state. But I think what happened in Tennessee today shows you can't assume that. Clinton won the primary. And the add-ons? One is leaning towards Clinton, but not quite there, and the other is clearly undecided:

Harwell said after being elected that "at this point, I'm leaning toward Sen. Clinton." Harwell said she had met Clinton personally and found her to be a "dynamic, dedicated Democratic woman."
...
Lee said he intends to "listen very closely" to both Democratic frontrunners in the coming weeks and then vote at the convention "for the one I think is most electable in November."

The national AFL-CIO has yet to endorse either candidate, though it may do so before the convention, Lee said. The national labor organization's endorsement "would influence my decision," he said.

These are the types of add-ons we would see in years when no one cared who the add-ons were: Key bigwigs in state Democratic politics. This is a primary state, and the add-ons were selected by the State Executive Committee, where, I guess, longstanding state political issues and customs probably outweigh the transient pressures of the closest Presidential nomination in decades. For states operating in this way, I don't think we can assume anything about the add-ons in advance.

Iowa County Convention Results

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It looks like Obama is coming out ahead...

Saturday county conventions being worked hard by Obama and Clinton supporters (and some Edwards folks too) as all seek support for final delegate allocation in head-numbing multi-step process.

In evening conference call, Obama camp claims they’ve won 23 of the 45 pledged delegates at stake — a net gain of 7 since caucuses in early January — while Clinton has lost 1 at 14. - The Page

More from the Iowa Democratic Party

Iowa Democratic Party Releases County Convention Results

Des Moines – Today, Democrats in 99 counties held County Conventions, the second stage of the Iowa caucus to convention process.

“Today, Iowa Democrats again turned out in large numbers to reject the failed Bush-McCain campaign and its policies,” said Scott Brennan, Iowa Democratic Party Chair. “We are committed to winning Iowa for our nominee and party building activities like the Caucus and County Conventions help strengthen our counties, precincts and neighborhoods.”

The Iowa Democratic Party also released results from the County Conventions. The following results are from 99 of 99 counties and represent 2,500 of 2,500 State Delegates. Results will be updated periodically on our website www.iowademocrats.org as they are available.

Senator Hillary Clinton: 32.08%

Senator John Edwards: 15.52%

Senator Barack Obama: 51.96% (Percentages updated 10:00 EDT)

Get county by county results.

7:00 EDT: NBC has Obama up 7 to 23, Clinton up 1 to 16, Edwards down 8 to 6.

8:20 EDT: The AP has Obama up 7 to 23, Clinton down 1 to 14, Edwards down 7 to 7, with 1 delegate to be decided.

Update: 9:50 EDT: - Some of the confusion is due to the requirement that a candidate receive 15% in a Congressional District to receive a delegate from that district. Currently, Edwards is projected to be viable in 4 of the 5 CDs, giving him 4 delegates at the CD level, plus 3 at the national level. But he's on the edge of 15% in a couple of CDs, with some counties still out. If he drops below 15%, he loses the delegate, and it goes to either Clinton or Obama, depending on how the math plays out.

Update 10:25 EDT: The experts discussing this over at Daily Kos are pretty sure that the final numbers will be 25/14/6, a net gain of 10 for Obama. Politico has confirmed.

Update 10:45 EDT: The state-wide delegates are expected to be 8/5/3. The CD Delegates are expected to be 17/9/3. Edwards only achieved 15% in 3 of the 5 CDs. If all his delegates to the CD and state conventions leave him and split 50/50, the math says the 6 delegates would also be split 50/50, with a final count of Obama 28, Clinton 17.

Note: We'll update all our trackers when the AP updates their official delegate count.

Iowa County Convention Preview

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For the latest information go to our Iowa Results post.

As we expected in our writeup yesterday on tomorrow's Iowa County Conventions, there's a lot more information available today on what might or might not happen tomorrow. The Des Moine Register:

For the first time, candidates have hired staff to whip up turnout to county conventions.

Teams of paid and volunteer workers have spent weeks contacting the 13,485 delegates elected on caucus night. In some cases, they are trying to sway those who supported former Sen. John Edwards, who quit the race Jan. 30.
...
Those 13,485 delegates will elect 2,500 delegates Saturday. Those 2,500 will elect some of the national convention delegates during Iowa's district conventions on April 26 and the rest at the state convention on June 14.

The Iowa Independent:

Tomorrow is the day of Democratic county conventions. While these take place for both Republicans and Democrats throughout the state after every Iowa caucus, most activists cannot remember a time when the results of the conventions could play such an important national role. The caucuses, while highly publicized as the first national pulse in presidential politics, are not the actual mechanism by which delegates to the Democratic National Convention are selected. The selection will take place at the upcoming conventions -- county conventions scheduled for Saturday being the first.

Individuals selected on caucus night to be delegates and alternates to county convention are being targeted once again by presidential hopefuls. Delegates receiving the most attention, however, are those who are currently aligned with former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Because no delegates are beholden to their caucus night choice and also because Edwards has dropped from the race, the campaigns for New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama are both focusing on Edwards delegates in an attempt to increase their own number of national delegates.

As previously reported, the grassroots campaign built in Iowa by the Obama campaign is back in action. For at least the past two weeks, the Obama team has been making contact with convention delegates and alternates to impress upon them the importance of going to their respective county conventions. This week the Clinton campaign also began making its presence known in Iowa once again. Field directors have returned to their caucus areas, local supporters have phoned Edwards delegates to request support and, just yesterday, an automated phone call by Sen. Clinton herself went out to Iowans.

Finally, the Obama campaign has a page dedicated to the County Conventions, including the time and place of every county convention, a primer and FAQ about the conventions, and a 42 page County Convention Guide.

I think the most difficult thing tomorrow will be finding results.

Update (2PM Sat): From the AP: "Party officials expected results from virtually all the counties by late afternoon. A handful of tiny rural counties were holding their conventions in the evening."

DNC Still Unsure On Issue Of Seating Florida Delegates

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On Tuesday night, Florida's nine congressmen voted to oppose a mail-in vote proposition put forth by Florida Democratic State Chairman, Karen Thurman. Thurman has urged the national and state party, as well as both Senators Clinton and Obama to consider a combined vote-by-mail/in-person plan to serve as a re-do of Florida's premature January 29th presidential primary. This is just the latest news in the ongoing struggle the DNC faces in figuring out how to get the Florida and Michigan delegates seated in August.

First, an introduction:
As this is my first contribution to this site, my friends at 2008 Democratic Convention Watch encouraged me to say hello. My name is Anthony Timperman, and amongst certain other duties, I am the publisher of Waxpolitic.blogspot.com . I will be contributing regularly here at DCW up to and after the Convention. I hope you will stop by and join in our forum at Wax Politic from time to time as well. There... hello. Back to Florida.

Thurman's plan calls for all of Florida's 4.1 million Democrats to be mailed a ballot. They could send it back or cast a ballot in one of 50 regional voting centers. The election would end June 3rd, a week before a Democratic National Committee deadline to name delegates. Price to Florida voters? $10 to 12 million to be exact. Asked how she felt about the chances of her proposal being actualized State Party Chair Thurman replied,

I have a feeling that this is probably closer to not, than yes.

So what needs to get done at the national level for Florida and Michigan to seat their delegates?

In Michigan the DNC and state party leaders who include Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Clinton supporter, are working to get on the same page. The stumbling block is how to pass legislation that would agree on spending privately raised funds for a re-do. If this happens, it looks likely that an early June vote is possible.

In Florida, it may take a more novel approach. One idea would seat Florida's existing delegates at the convention with half a vote each. Florida's superdelegates would then be given a vote in Denver. (Senator Bill Nelson is floating this idea also). A curious proposition, but one that seems to make more sense logistically for those legislators in Florida who contend that a mail-in re-do is far more involved than some would like to think. They're using Oregon, whose mail-in ballot process took years to iron out, as evidence. Talk from DNC headquarters makes obvious the fact that no one wants this dragging out until the National Convention in August.

The best option is whatever we can get the candidates to agree with, which puts a vote back in the hands of the people of Florida and Michigan. And that's going to be not so easy to do. - DNC Chairman Howard Dean

The Clinton and Obama camps have different stances but each continues to publicly assuage fears that they would interfere with the rules the DNC laid out. Senator Clinton, having won both Florida and Michigan (although she was the only major candidate on the Michigan ballot), is hopeful that these two states' delegations will swing a hotly contentious race in her favor. Obama strategists have publicly called into question the timing of Senator Clinton's heightened focus on the issue.

We'll keep on top of this in the coming days to find out how party leaders in Florida and Michigan will sort through all of the political jockeying and logistical hurdles.

Update (from Matt): The DNC is playing hardball with Florida:

Florida Democrats got a stern warning Friday from the co-chairman of a group that will determine whether the state gets a say in the presidential race: Hold a re-vote, or risk not getting seated at the party convention to pick a nominee.

"It's the responsibility of the state Democratic Party to come up with a [re-vote] proposal that complies with the rules and has the support and the planning that's needed within the state," James Roosevelt, who runs the Democratic National Committee's credentials committee, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida's Democratic leaders had floated the idea of a June 3 redo election to comply with national party rules, which the state violated with its Jan. 29 primary. But the re-vote plan was opposed by Florida's congressional delegation and faces many logistic obstacles.

The DNC's credentials committee, which has two other co-chairmen and about 200 members, most of whom are still to be named by the presidential candidates, has the power to decide whether Florida and Michigan get a say at the nominating convention. The two states were punished for moving up their primary dates in violation of national party rules.

A re-vote "seems to be moving forward in Michigan; it seems to be a little bit stalled in Florida," said Roosevelt, a former official in Bill Clinton's administration appointed to his party post by DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "If they can do it in Michigan, I don't see why they couldn't do it in Florida."

Roosevelt's comments drew a swift rebuke from Florida Senate Democratic leader Steve Geller, who said the national party is flirting with disaster by threatening to snub Florida.

"What the DNC fails to understand is that not only are they giving away the presidency, we're apparently heading toward a Democratic National Convention that is a repeat of Chicago in 1968," said Geller, D-Cooper City, referring to the most chaotic Democratic convention in modern history.

There's been some talk that the Credentials Committee would be pro-Clinton because of the Clinton ties of the three heads. I think the above makes it clear that the person pulling the strings of the Credentials Committee will be Howard Dean.

Florida and Michigan: By the numbers

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Important Note 5/2/2008:
This post will no longer be updated. A new post, with more current options, can be found here.

There are all sorts of options concerning Florida and Michigan, so we do what we do best - we run all the numbers:

The options are:

1. Do not seat Florida or Michigan.
2. Split the Florida and Michigan pledged delegations 50/50. Superdelegates are free to vote as they wish. (The list of Florida and Michigan superdelegates)
   
3. Florida and Michigan hold new elections. (3/17 - Florida has announced they will not hold a new election as did Michigan on 3/19)
   
4. Split Michigan 50/50 including supers. Give Florida pledged delegates 1/2 vote, but based on January election. 1/2 vote for superdelegates also. This is supposedly under significant discussion.
5. Seat them based on the elections that have taken place. Give Obama the 55 Michigan uncommitted delegates.
6. Seat them based on the elections that have taken place. Don't assume Obama gets the 55 Michigan uncommitted delegates.

We are not endorsing any of these options. We're just providing information so our readers can judge how each option will affect the race.

Note: Many readers have asked why we continue to include options 5 and 6 in this post, and why we include option 6 in our sidebar. It's because politics is a strange business, and you never know what might happen in the future.

Important Note 4/5:
DCW has switched from AP to the Green Papers(GP) as our primary source of "Pledged Delegates". The Green Papers has done a better and quicker job of keeping their numbers up-to-date.

FL & MI OPTIONS
Option 1: Do not seat Florida or Michigan. Current Status
Total Delegates Available: 4047			Required: 2024
	Obama	Clinton	Edwards	Others(1)	NYA(2)	YTV(3)	Total
Pledged Delegates(GP)	1489	1337	19	--	--	408	3253
Superdelegates (DCW)	244	265	--	285	--	--	794
Total Delegates	1733	1602	19	285	--	408	4047
Delegates Lead	131	--	--	--	--	--	--
Delegates needed to win Nomination	291	422	--	--	--	Left	693
Option 2: With FL & MI 50/50 Split
Total Delegates Available: 4415.0			Required: 2208
	Obama	Clinton	Edwards	Others(1)	NYA(2)	YTV(3)	Total
Pledged Delegates(GP)	1639	1487	32	0	--	408	3566
Superdelegates (DCW)	249	280	--	320	--	--	849
Total Delegates	1888	1767	32	320	--	408	4415
Delegates Lead	121	--	--	--	--	--	--
Delegates needed to win Nomination	320	441	--	--	--	Left	728
Option 3: FL & MI hold new elections
Total Delegates Available: 4415			Required: 2208
	Obama	Clinton	Edwards	Others(1)	NYA(2)	YTV(3)	Total
Pledged Delegates(GP)	1489	1337	19	--	--	721	3566
Superdelegates (DCW)	249	280	--	320	--	--	849
Total Delegates	1738	1617	19	320	--	721	4415
Delegates Lead	121	--	--	--	--	--	--
Delegates needed to win Nomination	470	591	--	--	--	Left	1041
Option 4: With FL 1/2 Vote & MI 50/50 Split
Total Delegates Available: 4309.5			Required: 2155
	Obama	Clinton	Edwards	Others(1)	NYA(2)	YTV(3)	Total
Pledged Delegates(GP)	1489	1337	19	--	--	408	3253
MI 50/50 split including supers	78.5	78 .5	--	--	--	--	157
FL 1/2 Delegate Vote including supers	35.5	56.5	6.5	7	--	--	105.5
Superdelegates (DCW)	244	265	--	285	--	--	794
Total Delegates	1847.5	1737.5	25.5	292	--	408	4309.5
Delegates Lead	110	--	--	--	--	--	--
Delegates needed to win Nomination	308	418	--	--	--	Left	700
Option 5: With FL & MI (Obama gets MI 55)
Total Delegates Available: 4415			Required: 2208
	Obama	Clinton	Edwards	Others(1)	NYA(2)	YTV(3)	Total
Pledged Delegates(GP)	1611	1515	32	--	--	408	3566
Superdelegates (DCW)	249	280	--	320	--	--	849
Total Delegates	1860	1795	32	320	--	408	4415
Delegates Lead	65	--	--	--	--	--	--
Delegates needed to win Nomination	348	413	--	--	--	Left	728
Option 6: With FL & MI included - Results Upheld
Total Delegates Available: 4415			Required: 2208
	Obama	Clinton	Edwards	Others(1)	NYA(2)	YTV(3)	Total
Pledged Delegates(GP)	1556	1515	32	55	--	408	3566
Superdelegates (DCW)	249	280	--	320	--	--	849
Total Delegates	1805	1795	32	375	--	408	4415
Delegates Lead	10	--	--	--	--	--	--
Delegates needed to win Nomination	403	413	--	--	--	Left	783
Last Updated: 05/01/2008

Notes: The options and table are sorted from the highest candidate's lead to the lowest.

Others(1): Include Unknown, Uncomitted & No endorsements yet
NYA(2): Not Yet Assigned.
YTV(3): Not Yet Voted.

Iowa County Conventions on Saturday

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As we've been writing ever since John Edwards dropped out of the race, his 14 estimated national delegates are up-for-grabs at the Iowa County Conventions this Saturday:

Iowa, which first voted on Jan. 3, holds county conventions this weekend in familiar locales the candidates remember well, like Des Moines.
...
Most years, the complexities of party caucuses don't generate much interest after the campaigns have moved on. "This year, they will be fighting over every delegate," said Norm Sterzenbach, political director of the Iowa Democratic Party.
...
In Iowa, precinct caucuses were held Jan. 3 to select delegates to county conventions this weekend. The county conventions will select delegates to congressional district conventions in April and the state convention in June.

National delegates are elected at the congressional district and state conventions — the third step of the process. If all the delegates for each candidate show up at every step, the national delegates awarded Jan. 3 will remain unchanged.

But if one side is unable to rally its supporters at any step along the way, it risks losing national delegates.

Obama won the Iowa caucuses in January, picking up 16 national delegates. Clinton came in third, winning 15. Under Iowa's quirky system, Clinton won one more delegate than Edwards, even though Edwards got the second most votes. Edwards' delegates — and the chance to win them over — will add intrigue to the Iowa conventions.

"Absolutely they're fair game," said Karen Hicks, a senior adviser to the Clinton campaign. "We are reaching out to a lot of them, trying to persuade them to join our team."

Both campaigns have been working behind the scenes in Iowa for several weeks, rallying supporters to attend the conventions on Saturday. "We are doing what we can to make sure we hold onto all the Obama folks," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Hmmm, the Clinton people are going after the Edwards delegates, but the Obama people are trying to hold onto their own???

But then, working in Obama's favor:

Obama's campaign still has a couple of paid staff members working in Iowa. Hillary Clinton's campaign sent an email to supporters in Iowa, urging them to be active in this weekend's Democratic county conventions but she has no paid staff remaining in the state.

Clinton has no paid staff in Iowa? Sounds like the opposite of what happened in Colorado, and, frankly, we'd like to see confirmation of it.

There are 29 national delegates chosen at the Congressional District conventions, and 16 national delegates chosen at the State convention. Edwards currently has 9 estimated delegates at the CD level, and 5 at the state level. (Green Papers)

We'll repeat what we wrote on Tuesday:

Edwards now has about 30% of the total delegates to the county conventions. But remember, a candidate must achieve the 15% threshold at every level.

So Edwards needs 15% at any County Convention to put county delegates through to the next round. The conventional assumption was that he wouldn't get it in enough counties to achieve 15%. But will that be the case? One Edwards county leader, David P. Redlawsk, is trying to keep his delegates together:

Well, in my county – Johnson County, home of the University of Iowa – the Edwards delegation (which, for full disclosure, I lead) will attempt to remain together, to elect our own delegates pledged to Edwards to the District and State conventions. If we are successful in doing this, and if Edwards supporters in other counties in our district do the same, the Edwards delegation could be a major factor in determining what happens in April and June. We may get to elect our own national convention delegates or we may end up aligning with one of the other candidates, providing a significant boost to him or her.

One other note from Redlawsk, which gives a hint at how this may all play out:

Interestingly, at least locally, only the Obama campaign has been making efforts to woo Edwards delegates. The Clinton campaign seems to be completely missing in action. If this is the case throughout Iowa, don’t be surprised if in April Obama is able to pad his delegate count by strategically continuing to campaign for the hearts and minds of county, district, and state convention delegates.

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow, and we hope to have results here on Saturday.

Update: Edwards co-chairs have asked all Edward's delegates to stay with Edwards on Saturday.

Denver residents worried about access

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Denver residents near the Pepsi Center and other conventions locations are worried about access:

The convention, scheduled for Aug. 25 - 28, promises to create headaches for those living downtown. Thousands live downtown, and several thousand more will be coming downtown during the last week of August. There will be road blocks, Secret Service and protests, and residents said now is the time to develop a plan ensuring they can get to and from home safely.
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"The city of Denver is showing a lot of western hospitality," said John Maslanik, president of the Downtown Denver Residents Organization. Maslanik said so far, the DNC host committee has communicated well.

"But there's one piece that seems to missing and that's kind of this question about security for the residents and access," said Maslanik. And with a red-hot race and the possibility of a brokered convention, downtown residents want a plan in place ensuring residential access and safety sooner rather than later. "Because then people get defensive and angry and I don't think there's any need for that," said Maslanik.

Security lockdowns around convention sites have always caused problems for local residents, who sometimes need special passes just to get to and from their residences. I don't think there's much housing right near the Pepsi Center, but there will be inconveniences, and the local residents are right to make sure plans are in place and communicated well before the convention starts.

Superdelegate news

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Couple of superdelegate news items worth noting:

What do superdelegates eat?:

If you're an uncommitted superdelegate, you can get a free(-ish) dinner at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's house in Kalorama tonight. Members of the elite -- and increasingly sought-after -- superdelegate universe are gathering at her home around 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., according to one Democratic aide. Unaligned Democratic members of the U.S. House and their spouses were invited, the aide said.

Update: The Washington Post has the scoop on the reception:

On Wednesday night, the Democratic presidential candidate held a private reception for several dozen members of Congress at her house on Whitehaven Street in Kalorama. Most of the guests were confirmed supporters, many from New York and Arkansas, making it something of a friends-and-family event.

But the real mission of the evening was to court lawmakers -- who are also superdelegates in the party's nominating process -- especially those from some of the biggest states. And at least one, Rep. Jason Altmire (Pa.), used the session to pose the kinds of questions voters usually aim at him rather than treating it as a polite political cocktail party.
...
"If Senator Obama is in that position, it's going to be very hard to overturn that," Altmire, a freshman lawmaker from the western part of Pennsylvania, said yesterday. But he added: "She's likely to do really well in my district and in Pennsylvania, so that's another consideration." He said that he has been bombarded with calls from both campaigns, but that he does not mind.

"I really want to hear from both sides," Altmire said. "I feel an obligation to do as much as I can to get to know the two candidates."

And while some are saying let Michigan and Florida's pledged delegates in, but drop the superdelegates, Florida DNC member Jon Ausman (former Kucinich supporter, rumored but not confirmed Clinton supporter) says the superdelegates should count no matter what:

Ausman...has filed an appeal with the party's rules and bylaws committee, arguing that its 2007 penalties against Michigan and Florida violated the DNC charter itself.

Why?

Because the charter explicitly states that the following members of the party are automatically granted the status of delegates no matter what: “members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of the United States Senate and the Democratic Members of the House of Representatives, former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee.”

Basically: the DNC can take way the earned (pledged) delegates... but it can't touch the automatic (super) delegates, because they're protected by the DNC's charter, which supercedes the DNC's rules and bylaws committee.

The verb used by the DNC charter is "shall."

So -- if the RBC hears the appeal, which they'd do at a meeting in, I think, April, and if they agree, the 23 superdelegates from Florida will be eligible for counting.

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns

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Governor Spitzer just announced that he will be resigning effective Monday, March 17th.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer, reeling from revelations that he had been a client of a prostitution ring, announced his resignation today at his headquarters in Manhattan.

Mr. Spitzer’s resignation is to be effective Monday, and Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson is to be sworn in to replace him. - NYT

We have removed his endorsement of Hillary Clinton and our superdelegate number goes back to 795 just a few hours after it hit 796. Should David Paterson step down from his DNC spot the number will go back to 796. Until then we'll be at 795.

Update 3/17: The DNC has confirmed that Paterson is keeping his DNC spot.

Democrats keep IN-7

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In a race that took longer to call than it should have, Andre Carson kept IN-7 in the Democratic column, beating Republican Jonathon Elrod by 53%-44%.

Carson, the grandson of previous Rep. Julia Carson, has been a member of the Indianapolis City-County Council. And, of course, he becomes the 796th superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Update: 796 we hardly knew ye. With Spitzer's resignation we're back to 795.

Wyoming Caucus and Mississippi Primary Tracker and Bonus IN-7 Special Election Results

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Mississippi will hold its primary today. There will also be a Special Election in IN-7 today.

CNN has a delegate counter that lets you figure out how each candidate can get enough delegates to win the nomination.

Today's Special Election in Indiana's 7th District is to fill the spot of Representative Julia Carson who passed away in December of last year. This could be a close one.

IN-07 Special Election

Andre Carson (D) - 54%
Jonathan Elrod (R) - 43%
96% Reporting - WISH TV

Carson wins!

Wyoming Caucus and Mississippi Primary Tracker

State	Delegates Left	% Vote In	% Clinton	%Obama	Delegates Clinton	Delegates Obama
Wyoming	-	100%	38%	61%	5	7
Mississippi	-	97%	38%	60%	14	19
Combined Total	-				19	26
Previously Pledged Delegates (AP)					1229	1364
Total Pledged Delegates					1248	1390
Superdelegate Endorsements					246	207
Total Delegates					1494	1597
Delegates Still Needed to Win Nomination					530	427

Source for Vote Percentage is CNN. Source for Delegates is CBS and AP. Source for Superdelegates is DCW.

Policy for this post is to use the highest delegate numbers available from any source. Eventually they will all come together.

This post will not be updated further. Please see the Ultimate Delegate Tracker for ongoing state-by-state updates.

Next up is Pennsylvania on April 22nd.

Democratic National Convention Committee introduces its Greening Program

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The DNCC has just rolled out it's Greening the Convention program

In another move toward solidifying the 2008 Democratic National Convention's place in history as the most environmentally-sustainable event of its kind to date, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today launched a series of "green" pages on its website at www.DemConvention.com. The new content highlights the DNCC's efforts to design waste out of the Convention by applying sustainable planning principles to every decision in the lead-up to the four-day event. Through these pages and other means, the DNCC also aims to harness national and international attention around the Convention to educate the public on responsible individual life choices to reduce human impact on the environment.

"The Democratic Party has been a leader in addressing climate change, environmental preservation and the promotion of renewable energy use, and the ways we build and execute our Convention in Denver will mirror those same commitments, " said Andrea Robinson, Director of Sustainability and Greening for the DNCC. "We aim to lead by example and identify opportunities, such as these web pages, to help educate the public as well as Convention attendees about making more sustainable choices in their own day-to-day activities."

DemConvention.com now features a carbon calculator to help Convention guests measure the carbon footprint generated by their individual trips to Denver. Additional components of the new green pages include an overview of the DNCC's sustainable goals and objectives, a weekly innovative and easy "greening" tip, behind-the-scenes "Green Screen" video of the DNCC's efforts to create a sustainable event and the latest news and information on the organization's commitment to leave Denver and the Democratic Party with a lasting environmental legacy. The site also provides further detail about how the DNCC is incorporating sustainable principles into planning related to Convention events scheduled for the Pepsi Center and the Colorado Convention Center.

In addition to providing an online resource and educational tool focused on sustainability, the DNCC is assembling a "Green Team" to help meet the organization's goal of a minimum 85 percent waste diversion rate at the Pepsi Center and the Colorado Convention Center. Robinson estimates needing the help of some 800 volunteers in various shifts to assist with greening assignments during Convention week. Some of the DNCC "Green Team" members are already working within the DNCC offices. The DNCC will continue to expand the team in the coming months by recruiting from local colleges, universities and the pool of volunteers who have already signed up with the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee. - DNCC Press Release

Here's the first "Green Screen" video

Edwards Iowa delegates may try to stick it out

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My assumption all along had been that Edward's delegates to the Iowa County Conventions on Saturday would scatter, essentially reallocating his 14 estimated national delegates to the other campaigns. Edwards now has about 30% of the total delegates to the county conventions. But remember, a candidate must achieve the 15% threshold at every level. The county conventions are electing delegates to the Congressional District and State conventions, which then do the actual election of delegates to the national convention. I assumed he wouldn't get 15% anywhere, allowing his 14 national delegates to get reallocated. I may be wrong:

And as David P. Redlawsk at the Britannica Blog notes, "across Iowa some 30% of all county convention delegates are John Edwards supporters (more than Clinton has by a handful), and those folks may have to make a choice. The choice they make may determine whether Clinton or Obama comes out of Iowa with the bulk of our national delegates – either one could conceivably pick up all 14 of Edwards’ potential delegates. Normally that wouldn’t matter much, but this time around every delegate may make a difference.

"So what’s going to happen? Well, in my county – Johnson County, home of the University of Iowa – the Edwards delegation (which, for full disclosure, I lead) will attempt to remain together, to elect our own delegates pledged to Edwards to the District and State conventions. If we are successful in doing this, and if Edwards supporters in other counties in our district do the same, the Edwards delegation could be a major factor in determining what happens in April and June. We may get to elect our own national convention delegates or we may end up aligning with one of the other candidates, providing a significant boost to him or her."

Redlawsk says that "at least locally, only the Obama campaign has been making efforts to woo Edwards delegates. The Clinton campaign seems to be completely missing in action. If this is the case throughout Iowa, don’t be surprised if in April Obama is able to pad his delegate count by strategically continuing to campaign for the hearts and minds of county, district, and state convention delegates."

There's going to be a lot more written on this before Saturday. Stay tuned.

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer linked to prostitution ring

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It was announced today that Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught arranging to meet with a prostitute in Washington last month.

We vowed to bring real change to New York and that will continue. Today, I want to briefly address a private matter. I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my — or any — sense of right and wrong. I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better. I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what is best for the State of New York. But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard that I expect of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family. I will not be taking questions. Thank you very much. I will report back to you in short order. Thank you very much. - Spitzer's statement from NYT

Should Spitzer resign he would lose his superdelegate status. Spitzer is in Clinton's corner on our endorsement list. He would be replaced by Lt. Governor David Paterson who is already a superdelegate and Clinton endorser. This may bring the total number of superdelegates back to 794 depending on how this plays out.

Paterson is currently an at-large member on the DNC roster of superdelegates. If he becomes Governor and gives up his DNC position the DNC will fill the vacancy with someone else and the number will continue to be 795. (Update: The DNC has confirmed that DNC members can also be replaced up to the beginning of the convention). If he holds his position with the DNC the number of superdelegates will go down to 794.

More on Paterson here:

David A Paterson was elected New York’s 74th Lieutenant Governor on November 7, 2006. As Lieutenant Governor, Paterson leads the administration’s charge in several critical areas. He focuses on stem cell research, alternative energy, reducing domestic violence, and increasing the role minority- and women-owned businesses play in New York State. Governor Spitzer chose Paterson to be his running mate because Paterson had a strong record of championing issues such as these for over the two decades he served in the New York State Senate. - NY.GOV

Update: The New York Times is reporting that Spitzer's Aides expect him to resign at some point.

Top aides to Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Tuesday morning that they expect the governor to resign his office, although the timing of the resignation remains uncertain.

After a report that Gov. Eliot Spitzer had patronized a prostitution ring, officials in Albany greeted the news with shock, and some on Wall Street, a frequent target of his investigations as attorney general, were unsympathetic.

Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson and his staff have begun laying the groundwork for him to take over as governor and are reaching out to members of the Legislature, the aides said.

Add-on superdelegate selection schedule

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The table below shows the schedule for each State Convention where Unpledged Add-on Delegates was selected.

The following description of the Add-on Delegates is taken from the Democratic National Convention Committee(DNCC) web site:
"Add-on delegates - may be selected by either the same selecting body that selects the state's PLEO delegates or by the same selecting body which will select the state's "at-large" delegates. They can be selected whether or not they previously filed a statement of candidacy for a delegate position or submitted a pledge of support for a presidential candidate..

Add-ons who have endorsed are shown by a (O) or (C) after their name. They will be listed on our endorsement page. If no letter is shown, they are on the Undeclared list.

Update April 4: The AP provides an interesting overview of the add-ons are how they are selected.

States schedule to select Superdelegates Add-ons
State	# of Unpledged Add-Ons	State Convention Date	Method of Selection / Add-ons (Green Papers)
Oklahoma	1	2/23/2008	Reggie Whitten (O) selected during the Party State Convention.
Alabama	1	3/1/2008	Stewart Burkhalter (O) elected during the State Democratic Executive Committee meeting.
Arkansas	1	3/8/2008	Mark Wilcox (C