Over the weekend, Sen. Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly won Puerto Rico but the bigger news was the Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing that restored the delegations from Florida and Michigan - giving the delegates a half-vote each at the convention.
SEE RELATED:
If you haven’t heard by now, the ruling was cheered by the rogue states but derided by Clinton supporters, many who realize her last chance of getting a big chunk of delegates was gone based on the half-seating. Harold Ickes said he was reserving Clinton’s right to appeal to the even more obscure credentials committee, which doesn’t meet until much later in the summer.
Here is my story on the RBC meeting, and some video of the protests outside the hearing.
Here’s the video I mention in my story today about Clinton’s popular vote push.
I am on my way to Michigan to meet up with the Obama campaign, and we’ll have political reporter Joe Curl on the ground with Clinton for the final days of the primary season.
The RBC decision changed the so-called magic number needed to win the nomination to 2,118. Here’s an Obama memo from last night detailing his path to the party nod. Since this came out, he has picked up two more superdelegates.
The Math
Total Pledged Delegates: 3,406.5 (was 3,253)
Pledged Delegates needed for majority: 1,705 (was 1,627)
Total delegates needed for nomination: 2,118 (was 2,026)
Obama Pledged Delegates: 1,728.5 (23.5 more than needed for the majority)
Obama Superdelegates: 332.5
Obama Total Delegates: 2,072
Number of delegates Obama needs to secure the nomination: 46
This delegate update is adjusted for the new number for the nomination (2,118) the pledged delegates won in Puerto Rico (17) and the Michigan and Florida superdelegates who support us (who count in the tally as .5 each).
Finally, a little housekeeping note. You may have noticed our new Web site. It is fantastic, deep and interactive, but will take some getting used to. Please pardon our dust as we work through a few of the kinks. Also, please bookmark the Bellantoni on the Democrats homepage and check back often.
You can also explore some of our fun new features, including our Two Guys in a Newsroom video starring Ralph Hallow and Don Lambro and the evening look ahead.
— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times
