Email to a Friend
Stumble It!
BY AMY DOMINELLO
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
If you ask Joe Turnham, you’re not going to get an answer. The chair of the Alabama Democratic Party is waiting until the primaries end June 3 before he makes his decision known.
Turnham 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.
In Alabama, one superdelegate is supporting Obama and three are supporting Clinton.
As the primary drags on, Turnham and the two other Alabama superdelegates that remain publicly uncommitted face increasing pressure to reveal their preferences and bring the long, divisive contest to a swift end.
Turnham, though, isn’t telling.
“I think people like me are going to stay put for a little while and make sure there’s a plan to unify the party,” he said.
When the primaries wrap up next month, 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 erased her advantage in superdelegates and now leads 301.5-271, according to a tabulation by the New York Times.
“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
Alabama Superdelegates (7)
For Obama: (1)
- U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Birmingham.
For Clinton (3)
- Rev. Randy B. Kelley of Gadsden. Pastor of two United Methodist churches. Alabama DNC member.
- State Rep. Yvonne Kennedy of Mobile. Retired community college president. Alabama DNC member.
- Joe L. Reed of Montgomery. Chair of the Alabama Democratic Conference and Alabama DNC member.
Uncommitted: (3)
- U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer of Huntsville.
- Joe Turnham of Auburn. Business consultant. Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.
- Nancy Worley of New Hope. Former Alabama Secretary of State. Vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.
Source: Alabama Democratic Party
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
If you ask Joe Turnham, you’re not going to get an answer. The chair of the Alabama Democratic Party is waiting until the primaries end June 3 before he makes his decision known.
Turnham 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.
In Alabama, one superdelegate is supporting Obama and three are supporting Clinton.
As the primary drags on, Turnham and the two other Alabama superdelegates that remain publicly uncommitted face increasing pressure to reveal their preferences and bring the long, divisive contest to a swift end.
Turnham, though, isn’t telling.
“I think people like me are going to stay put for a little while and make sure there’s a plan to unify the party,” he said.
When the primaries wrap up next month, 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 erased her advantage in superdelegates and now leads 301.5-271, according to a tabulation by the New York Times.
“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
Alabama Superdelegates (7)
For Obama: (1)
- U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Birmingham.
For Clinton (3)
- Rev. Randy B. Kelley of Gadsden. Pastor of two United Methodist churches. Alabama DNC member.
- State Rep. Yvonne Kennedy of Mobile. Retired community college president. Alabama DNC member.
- Joe L. Reed of Montgomery. Chair of the Alabama Democratic Conference and Alabama DNC member.
Uncommitted: (3)
- U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer of Huntsville.
- Joe Turnham of Auburn. Business consultant. Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.
- Nancy Worley of New Hope. Former Alabama Secretary of State. Vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.
Source: Alabama Democratic Party