Twenty-five Democratic activists named to an obscure party committee face the prospect of doing what millions of primary and caucus voters across the country so far haven’t — choose their party’s presidential nominee.
A law school dean, a car dealer and a college student are among the 25 people appointed by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean to the Convention Credentials Committee, a body that could swing the election when settling the brouhaha over seating Florida and Michigan’s delegates.
“I don’t think they explained that to us beforehand,” joked Dean Aguillen, a lobbyist who was appointed to the committee by Mr. Dean. “It’s something that came up later, and you started learning some of the processes of the convention.”
The bulk of the 186-person committee will be chosen by the candidates, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, using a proportional formula that generally reflects the results of the primary contest — meaning neither one is expected to have enough votes to control it.
“It’s too early to tell at this point — something might happen before we get [to the convention], but if not, it’s a pretty big decision to make considering how close this election is,” said Leila Sahar, a senior at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., who was appointed to the committee by Mr. Dean in January. “That’s a pretty significant thing, and it’s a big committee to be a part of now.”
The committee is responsible for refereeing any questions regarding the seating of delegates and alternates that aren’t resolved by the party’s rules and bylaws committee. In most presidential election years, this means settling small disputes regarding individual delegates that have no bearing on the party’s presidential nominee.
But the panel, which isn’t expected to meet until July or early August, was thrust into spotlight after the Florida and Michigan Democratic parties last month abandoned plans to hold do-over primaries.
The committee still could avoid having to rule on the disputed delegates if the national party’s rules and bylaws committee — the group that stripped Florida and Michigan of a combined 367 delegates after the states moved their primaries to January — reopens the case.
A winning nominee also could be declared before the August convention in Denver if enough uncommitted “superdelgates” throw their support to one candidate.
“I really hope this will all be resolved before we get [to the convention], and that it’s a boring time to be on the credentials committee,” said Don Beyer, a Virginia car dealer and former lieutenant governor who is among the 25 Dean appointees to the committee.
“But on the other hand, what an exciting time to be on the credentials committee. You’d have to go back a long time in which the committee had this level of importance,” he said.
Mr. Aguillen, while a Clinton supporter, said he would take an objective approach if the committee was forced to rule on the status of the Florida and Michigan delegates.
“Just because I support one candidate, obviously you know people in every camp, so I definitely feel I could be objective,” said Mr. Aguillen, senior vice president of Ogilvy Government Relations in Washington.
Mr. Dean’s criteria for choosing his 25 members was “to get a diverse group of people from all walks of life,” said a party official, who added that the “process of choosing these 25 began last fall, when many of the 25 appointed members were uncommitted.”
Mr. Beyer, an Obama supporter, said Mr. Dean didn’t discuss his endorsement of the Illinois senator when the former Vermont governor approached him to serve on the committee.
“When Governor Dean called and asked if I would consider being on [the committee], his only question was would I do the right thing as best I understood it without concern of which candidate I was supporting,” Mr. Beyer said.
“I can assure you the primary criteria will not be how do we best advance the interest of our, of my, candidate. I certainly want Barack Obama to win, but the most important thing is to do the right thing,” he said.
Mrs. Clinton easily won the Florida and Michigan primaries, but the results have been called into question. Democratic candidates had agreed not to campaign in the two states because the state parties violated national party rules by holding their primaries before Feb. 5. And Mr. Obama’s name was not on the ballot in Michigan.
Mrs. Clinton has pushed for the Florida and Michigan results to stand or to hold do-over contests, saying it would be unfair and politically unwise to deny voters in the influential states a voice in the Democratic process.
Mr. Obama, meanwhile, has maintained the Florida and Michigan results were flawed and should be discarded.
The Illinois senator has a 1,414 to 1,248 lead over Mrs. Clinton in “pledged” delegates — delegates won from state primaries and caucuses, according to Real Clear Politics. He also has the support of an estimated 218 superdelgates, compared with about 250 for Mrs. Clinton.
A candidate would need 2,025 total delegates to secure the party’s nomination, if the Florida and Michigan delegates aren’t reinstated.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.