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BY AMY DOMINELLO
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON – Add one more Mississippi superdelegate to Barack Obama’s camp.
Wayne Dowdy, the chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party and a former congressman, endorsed Obama Wednesday.
“Obama has shown he has the strength, skills and the leadership to be our Democratic nominee and take on the failed policies of the last eight years,” Dowdy said in a written statement released by the Obama campaign.
Dowdy is one of 796 Democratic superdelegates –local activists, congressmen, former presidents and others whose votes will determine which candidate gets the right to face Republican John McCain this fall.
Four Mississippi superdelegates are now supporting Obama, who won the state’s primary. None are supporting Hillary Clinton.
The state’s two other superdelegates - Carnelia Pettis Fondren, the vice chair of the state party, and U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor – remain uncommitted.
Fondren could not be reached for comment early in the week. A spokeswoman for Taylor said last week that the congressman has no plans to commit to either candidate anytime soon.
As the primary drags on, superdelegates that remain publicly uncommitted face increasing pressure to reveal their preferences and bring the long, divisive contest to a swift end.
When the primaries wrap up June 3, neither candidate will have secured enough pledged delegates in those contests to win the nomination. Nearly one in five of the 4,049 delegates who will vote at the party’s convention in August will be superdelegates. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win.
Obama’s big win in North Carolina this month broadened his lead over Clinton in pledged delegates. It also convinced some uncommitted superdelegates that Clinton had all but lost the race.
Many more have since come out for Obama than for Clinton. Over the last two weeks, he has erased her advantage in superdelegates. Obama now leads among superdelegates with a count of 309 to 273, according to a tabulation by the Associated Press.
“I think most people wanted to see who was going to take a lead and who was going to be persistent,” said Jane Kidd, the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, explaining the surge.
Kidd came out in support of Obama because she thought his candidacy would benefit other Democrats running for office across the state. Obama won Georgia’s February primary.
Some superdelegates are basing their decisions on which candidate could boost the chances of other Democrats in the November elections, Kidd and others said.
“An Obama candidacy will be a factor,” she said.
Though Clinton faces long odds to win the nomination now, superdelegates backing the New York senator still see her with the best chance to take back the White House.
And as long as Clinton is in it, the Rev. Randy B. Kelley will stick with her. Clinton, he said, is more knowledgeable and can compete better in battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania in the fall.
“I’m solid in my support,” said Kelley, a superdelegate from Gadsden, Ala. “Senator Clinton is a fighter and we need a fighter in the White House.”
Contact Amy Dominello at 202-662-7671 or adominello@mediageneral.com
Mississippi Superdelegates (6)
For Obama: (4)
- Wayne Dowdy of McComb. Attorney and former congressman. Chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
- Johnnie Patton of Jackson. Part-time pharmacist.
- Everett Sanders of Natchez. Attorney. National Committeeman.
- U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Bolton.
For Clinton (0)
Uncommitted: (2)
- Carnelia Pettis Fondren of Oxford. Attorney. Vice chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
- U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis.
Source: Mississippi Democratic Party
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON – Add one more Mississippi superdelegate to Barack Obama’s camp.
Wayne Dowdy, the chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party and a former congressman, endorsed Obama Wednesday.
“Obama has shown he has the strength, skills and the leadership to be our Democratic nominee and take on the failed policies of the last eight years,” Dowdy said in a written statement released by the Obama campaign.
Dowdy is one of 796 Democratic superdelegates –local activists, congressmen, former presidents and others whose votes will determine which candidate gets the right to face Republican John McCain this fall.
Four Mississippi superdelegates are now supporting Obama, who won the state’s primary. None are supporting Hillary Clinton.
The state’s two other superdelegates - Carnelia Pettis Fondren, the vice chair of the state party, and U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor – remain uncommitted.
Fondren could not be reached for comment early in the week. A spokeswoman for Taylor said last week that the congressman has no plans to commit to either candidate anytime soon.
As the primary drags on, superdelegates that remain publicly uncommitted face increasing pressure to reveal their preferences and bring the long, divisive contest to a swift end.
When the primaries wrap up June 3, neither candidate will have secured enough pledged delegates in those contests to win the nomination. Nearly one in five of the 4,049 delegates who will vote at the party’s convention in August will be superdelegates. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win.
Obama’s big win in North Carolina this month broadened his lead over Clinton in pledged delegates. It also convinced some uncommitted superdelegates that Clinton had all but lost the race.
Many more have since come out for Obama than for Clinton. Over the last two weeks, he has erased her advantage in superdelegates. Obama now leads among superdelegates with a count of 309 to 273, according to a tabulation by the Associated Press.
“I think most people wanted to see who was going to take a lead and who was going to be persistent,” said Jane Kidd, the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, explaining the surge.
Kidd came out in support of Obama because she thought his candidacy would benefit other Democrats running for office across the state. Obama won Georgia’s February primary.
Some superdelegates are basing their decisions on which candidate could boost the chances of other Democrats in the November elections, Kidd and others said.
“An Obama candidacy will be a factor,” she said.
Though Clinton faces long odds to win the nomination now, superdelegates backing the New York senator still see her with the best chance to take back the White House.
And as long as Clinton is in it, the Rev. Randy B. Kelley will stick with her. Clinton, he said, is more knowledgeable and can compete better in battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania in the fall.
“I’m solid in my support,” said Kelley, a superdelegate from Gadsden, Ala. “Senator Clinton is a fighter and we need a fighter in the White House.”
Contact Amy Dominello at 202-662-7671 or adominello@mediageneral.com
Mississippi Superdelegates (6)
For Obama: (4)
- Wayne Dowdy of McComb. Attorney and former congressman. Chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
- Johnnie Patton of Jackson. Part-time pharmacist.
- Everett Sanders of Natchez. Attorney. National Committeeman.
- U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Bolton.
For Clinton (0)
Uncommitted: (2)
- Carnelia Pettis Fondren of Oxford. Attorney. Vice chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
- U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis.
Source: Mississippi Democratic Party