Obama wrests lead among superdelegates

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sen. Barack Obama erased Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s once-imposing lead among superdelegates yesterday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party’s nomination for president.

Mr. Obama added superdelegates from Utah and Ohio, as well as two from the Virgin Islands who had previously backed Mrs. Clinton. The additions enabled the Illinois senator to surpass the former first lady’s total for the first time in the campaign. He picked up nine endorsements Friday.

The milestone is important because Mrs. Clinton would need to win over the superdelegates by a wide margin to claim the nomination. Because the race ran so long and was so close, neither Mr. Obama nor Mrs. Clinton can get the needed 2,025 convention votes simply from pledged delegates selected by primaries and caucuses. Mrs. Clinton owned the superdelegates before the first caucus, cashing in on the popularity of the Clinton brand among the party faithful.

Those party insiders, however, have been steadily streaming to Mr. Obama since he started posting wins in early-voting states.

“I always felt that if anybody establishes himself as the clear leader, the superdelegates would fall in line,” said Don Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

“It is perceived that he is the leader,” said Mr. Fowler, a superdelegate from South Carolina who supports Mrs. Clinton. “The trickle is going to become an avalanche.”

Superdelegates are the nearly 800 party and elected officials who will automatically attend the Democratic National Convention in August in Denver. They can support whomever they choose, regardless of what happened in the primaries. According to the latest tally by the Associated Press, Mr. Obama has endorsements from 275 to Mrs. Clinton’s 271.5 (some delegates and superdelegates only get half-votes).

Many of the superdelegates who endorsed Mr. Obama in the past week said it is time for the party to unite behind him after his big win Tuesday in North Carolina and narrow loss in Indiana. Mr. Obama has added 20 superdelegates since then, and Mrs. Clinton has had a net increase of two.

Kevin Rodriquez of the Virgin Islands said he switched because Mr. Obama has brought energy and excitement to the party.

“He has shown he can connect with Democrats, Republicans and independents across this country, whether we live on the mainland or an island,” Mr. Rodriquez said.

A little more than 200 superdelegates remain undecided, and about 40 others will be named by state parties at state conventions and meetings throughout the spring. Mr. Obama has a 163-delegate lead among the pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses. That means Mrs. Clinton would have to generate an identical lead among superdelegates to catch him.

In the overall race for the nomination, Mr. Obama has 1,863.5 delegates and Mrs. Clinton has 1,697, according to the latest AP tally.