This Day in Superdelegates

June 6 -- Thanks to DemConWatch

Mass endorsements all around.

Endorsed Obama

Rep. Nikki Tsongas (MA)

DNC Richard Ray (GA)

DNC Dick Cranwell (VA)

Rep. Zach Space (OH)

DNC Chris Redfern (OH)

Rep. Jim Matheson (UT)

DNC Helan Langan (UT)

Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH)

Sen. Jim Webb (VA)

DNC Robert Rankin (CA)

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ)



Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD)

Switch from Clinton to Obama

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (FL)

Rep. Corrine Brown (FL)

Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (FL)

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL)

Former House Speaker Tom Foley (WA)

Rep. Jay Inslee (WA)

Gov. Ted Strickland (OH)

DNC Billi Gosh (VT)

Rep. Diana DeGette (CO)

Rep. Betty Sutton (OH)

Rep. Norm Dicks (WA)

June 3

Endorsed Obama:

Michigan DNC Rick Wiener (1/2 vote)

Michigan DNC Debbie Dingell (1/2 vote)

Michigan Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kirkpatrick (1/2 vote)

South Carolina Rep. John Spratt

New York DNC Ralph Dawson

Mass. Rep. John Olver

Michigan DNC Joyce Lalonde (1/2)

Missouri DNC Maria Chappelle-Nadal

Maine DNC Jennifer DeChant

Ohio DNC Joyce Beatty

California DNC John A. Perez

Michigan DNC Kwame Kilpatrick (1/2 vote)

Mass. DNC Debra Kozikowski

Florida DNC Diane Glasser (1/2 vote)

Distinguished Party Leader Jimmy Carter

Mississippi DNC Carnelia Fondren

Michigan DNC Tina Abbott (1/2 vote)

California DNC Kamil Hasan (switch from Clinton)

D.C. DNC Ben Johnson (switch from Clinton)

California Rep. Maxine Waters (switch from Clinton)

Delaware DNC Rhett Ruggerio (switch from Clinton)

Delaware DNC Harriet Smith-Windsor

Delaware DNC John Daniello

Kansas Rep. Dennis Moore

Michigan DNC Michael Tardiff (1/2 vote)

California Rep. Sam Farr

Maryland DNC Belkis Leong-Hong

Oklahoma DNC Ivan Holmes

Pennsylvania Rep. Bob Brady

Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Arizona DNC State Party Chair Donald Bivens

California DNC Member Christine Pelosi

California DNC Member Rachel Binah (switch from Clinton)

California Rep. Bob Filner

California Rep. Jerry McNerney

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter

Florida DNC Member Mitchell Ceaser (1/2 vote)

Florida Rep. Ron Klein (1/2 vote)

Georgia State Labor Commissioner and DNC Michael Thurmond (switch from Clinton)

Kansas President of the National Federation of Democratic Women and DNC Helen Knetzer

Louisiana DNC Member Patsy Arceneaux (switch from Clinton)

Maine DNC Member Sam Spencer

Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes

Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak (1/2 vote)

Missouri DNC State Vice Chair Yolanda Wheat

Nevada DNC State Chair Sam Lieberman

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto

New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt

North Carolina DNC David Parker

North Carolina DNC Muriel Offerman

Oklahoma DNC Jay Parmley

Oregon Sec. State Bill Bradbury

Oregon DNC Frank Dixon

Pennsylvania DNC Ian Murray (switch from Clinton)

Virginia DNC Jim Leaman

Montana Sen. Max Baucus

Montana Sen. Jon Tester

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer

Montana DNC State Chair Dennis McDonald

Montana DNC State Vice Chair Margaret Campbell

Maryland DNC Heather Mizeur

Washington DNC Ron Sims

Minnesota DNC Rick Stafford

Endorsed Clinton:

Florida DNC Jon Ausman

Wyoming DNC Cynthia Nunley

June 2

Newly granted 1/2 votes

All superdelegates from Michigan and Florida

Endorsed Clinton:

Louisiana DNC Buddy Leach

Louisiana DNC Chris Whittington

Washington DNC Eileen Macoll

New York DNC Irene Stein

Endorsed Obama:

Oregon DNC Gail Rasmussen

Texas DNC Betty Richie

Texas DNC Boyd Richie

West Virginia Rep. Allan Mollohan

Newly selected Maine add-on Gwethalyn Phillips

Nevada DNC Yvonne Gates

Florida DNC Jancee Murphy (1/2 vote)

Michigan DNC Brenda Lawrence (1/2 vote)

Michigan DNC Lu Battaglieri (1/2 vote)

Virginia DNC Jerome WIley Segovia

Connecticut DNC Nancy DiNardo

Washington DNC David McDonald

South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn confirms that he plans to endorse Obama tomorrow.





May 28

New Obama endorsements:

Colorado DNC Pat Waak

Oregon DNC Meredith Wood Smith

May 27

Switch from Obama to Clinton:

Virgin Islands DNC Kevin Rodriguez

New Obama endorsements:

Wyoming DNC Nancy Drummond

Georgia Add-on Stephen Leeds

Wyoming Add-on W. Patrick Goggles

Alaska Add-on Tony Knowles

New Clinton endorsements:

Georgia Add-on Verna Cleveland

May 23

Newly selected add-on

Nevada Add-on Rusty McAllister

New Obama endorsements

Oregon DNC Jenny Greenleaf

California Rep. Jim Costa

Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney

Mississippi DNC Wayne Dowdy

Switch from Clinton to Obama

California Rep. Dennis Cardoza

New Clinton Endorsements

Guam DNC Pilar Lujan

Lousiana DNC Elsie Burkhalter (was previously a pledged delegate before she became a super)

Ohio Add-on Craig Bashein

May 20

New Obama endorsements:

Iowa DNC Scott Brennan

Alaska DNC Cindy Spanyers

Alaska DNC Blake Johnson

Guam Rep. Madeleine Bordallo

New Clinton endorsement:

Massachussetts Add-on Martha Coakley

May 19

New Obama endorsements:

Kansas DNC Lawrence Gates

West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd

Washington DNC Dwight Pelz

Maryland DNC Greg Pecoraro

Newly selected California Add-on William Quay Hays

Newly selected California Add-on Lou Paulson

Newly selected Kansas Add-on Mark Parkinson

Newly selected Colorado Add-on Federico Pena

New Clinton endorsements:

Newly selected California Add-on Carolyn Doggett

Newly selected California Add-on Dario Frommer

Newly selected California Add-on Dora Rubio

May 16

New Obama endorsement:

California Rep. Pete Stark

May 15

New Obama endorsements:

California Rep. Howard Berman

California Rep. Henry Waxman

Washington Rep. Jim McDermott

D.C. DNC Larry Cohen

May 14

New Obama endorsements:

Indiana Rep. Pete Visclosky

Wisconsin DNC Lena Taylor

Wisconsin DNC Awais Khaleel

Michigan DNC Lauren Wolfe (votes don't count)

Oklahoma DNC Mike Morgan

Democrat Abroad Christina Schon Marques

New Clinton endorsement:

Tennessee Add-on Vicky Harwell

May 13

New Obama endorsements:

Louisiana add-on Ray Nagin

Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly

Colorado Party Leader Roy Romer

D.C. DNC Anita Bonds

May 12

New Obama endorsements:

Virgin Island DNC Carol Burke

Virgin Island DNC Kevin Rodriguez (Switched from Clinton)

Arizona Rep. Harry Mitchell

California DNC Crystal Strait

Maine Rep. Tom Allen

Newly selected Utah Add-on Kristi Cumming

Newly selected Ohio Add-on Dave Regan

Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka

Idaho DNC Keith Roark

Hawaii DNC Dolly Strazar

New Clinton endorsements:

Newly selected Massachusetts Add-on Arthur Powell

Texas Rep. Ciro Rodriguez

May 9

New Clinton endorsements:

Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Carney

Switch from Clinton to Obama:

New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne

New Obama endorsements:

Maryland DNC John Gage

California DNC Ed Espinoza

Hawaii Rep. Mazie Hirono

New Mexico Add-on Laurie Weahkee

South Carolina DNC Wilber Lee Jeffcoat

California DNC Vernon Watkins

Virginia DNC Joe Johnson

New superdelegate:

Guam DNC Ben Pangelinan

May 8

New Obama endorsements:

Washington Rep. Rick Larsen

North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller

May 7

New Clinton endorsement:

North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler

Switch from Clinton to Obama:

Virginia DNC Jennifer McLellan

New Obama endorsements:

North Carolina DNC Jerry Meek

California DNC Inola Henry

May 6

New Obama endorsements:

North Carolina DNC Jeanette Council

New Clinton endorsement:

Democrat Abroad DNC Theresa Morelli

May 5

New Clinton endorsement:

Guam DNC Taling Taitano

New Obama endorsements:

Guam DNC Jaime Paulino

Maryland DNC Lauren Glover

Maryland DNC Michael Cryor

Oklahoma DNC Kalyn Free

New superdelegate:

Guam DNC Pilar Lujan

Louisiana Rep. Don Cazayoux

May 3

New Clinton add-on:

Maryland Add-on Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

New Obama add-ons:

South Carolina Add-on Inez Tenenbaum

Maryland Add-on Parris Glendening

New Obama endorsement:

New Mexico DNC Brian Colon

May 2

New Clinton endorsements:

Connecticut DNC John Olsen

Texas DNC Jaime A. Gonzalez, Jr.

New Obama endorsements:

Texas DNC John Patrick

Switch from Clinton to Obama:

Indiana Distinguished Party Leader Joe Andrew

New Obama add-ons:

Illinois Add-on Barbara Flynn Currie

Illinois Add-on Richard M. Daley

Illinois Add-on Todd Stroger

New Clinton Add-ons:

New York Add-on Carmen Arroyo

New York Add-on Andrew Cuomo

New York Add-on Thomas DiNapoli

New York Add-On C. Virginia Fields

April 30

New Clinton endorsement:

Pennsylvania DNC Bill George

Puerto Rico DNC Luisette Cabanas

New Obama endorsement:

Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley

California Rep. Lois Capps

Indiana Rep. Baron Hill

April 29

New Clinton endorsement:

Missouri Rep. Ike Skelton

New Obama endorsement:

Iowa DNC Richard Machacek

Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler

April 28

New Clinton endorsement:

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley

New Obama endorsement:

New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman

New uncommitted add-on superdelegate

New Mexico add-on Laurie Weahkee

April 26

New Clinton endorsement:

New Hampshire add-on Kathy Sullivan (selected today)

New Obama endorsements:

Oregon Rep. David Wu

Nebraska DNC Austra Ostergaard

Arizona DNC Charlene Fernandez (selected today)

New Uncommitted Add-on

Arizona Add-on Terry Goddard

April 23

New Clinton endorsement:

Tennessee Rep. John Tanner

New Obama endorsement:

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry

April 21

New Clinton endorsements:

Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan

New Obama endorsement:

Ohio DNC Enid Goubeaux

Change from Obama to Uncommitted:

Montana DNC Margaret Campbell (Previously, we had kept her in the Obama camp because her retraction seemed entirely procedural due to state party rules.)



April 19

New Clinton endorsements:

Ohio Rep. Betty Sutton

New Jersey Add-on Jim Florio (selected Thursday)

New Jersey Add-on Brendan Byrne (selected Thursday)

New Obama endorsement:

Nebraska DNC Steven Achelpohl

April 17

New Obama endorsements:

DC Add-on Harry Thomas, Jr.

Oklahoma Add-on Reggie Whitten

April 16

New Obama Endorsements:

North Carolina Rep. David Price

North Carolina Rep. Mel Watt

Indiana Rep. Andre Carson

New Clinton Endorsements:

California Rep. Jackie Speier

April 14

New Obama endorsement:

Minnesota DNC Nancy Larson

Correction:

California DNC Aleita Huguenin writes in to tell Politico that she is still a Clinton supporter.

Here is Ms. Huguenin's email:

I am NOT uncommitted-- I didn't change my mind... I am still a CLINTON superdelegate.



I am DNC Chair of the Western States Caucus and we have 2 states yet to finish the process-- Oregon and Montana.

I was asked if I would vote before the end of the primary/ caucus season---

I said NO.

I would not cast a vote until the last minute when all the votes were counted.





Aleita Huguenin,

CA Super Delegate

April 10

New Clinton endorsements:

Pennsylvania DNC Sophie Masloff

Ohio DNC Bill Burga

New Obama endorsement:

Utah DNC Wayne Holland

Change from Clinton to uncommitted:

California DNC Aleita Huguenin

New Superdelegate

California Rep. Jackie Speier fills Tom Lantos's old seat. She has supported Clinton for a long time, but refuses to say who she'll vote for at the convention.

April 8

New Clinton endorsement:

Arkansas Add-On Mark Wilcox

New Obama endorsement:

Montana DNC Jean Lemire Dahlman

Yesterday, we listed Margaret Campbell as a "New Obama endorsement." Citing Montana party rules, she has formally retracted her endorsement for Obama, but has not indicated in any way that she didn't support him.

April 7

New Obama endorsements:

Montana DNC Margaret Campbell

North Dakota Add-On Dan Hannaher

Change from Clinton to Uncommitted:

According to a recent DNC list, Louisiana DNC Mary Lou Winters -- a Clinton superdelegate -- was replaced by Elsie Burkhalter, who is undecided.

April 6

Change from Clinton to Uncommitted:

Utah DNC Helen Langan. She told NPR she doesn't know who she'd vote for at the convention if it were held today.

April 5

New Add-On superdelegates:

Missouri: Jay Nixon and Susan Montee. Montee has endorsed Obama.

Washington, DC: Yvette Alexander and Harry Thomas, Jr. Alexander has endorsed Obama.

Delaware: Rob Carver. Carver has endorsed Obama.

April 2

New Obama endorsements: 2

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal

Montana DNC John Melcher

March 31

New Obama endorsements: 1

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar

March 28

New Obama endorsements: 3

Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey

Connecticut Add-on Donald E. Williams

Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski

March 21

New Obama endorsement: 1

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson

March 20

- The DNC announced earlier this week that John Melcher of Montana and Brenda Lawrence of Michigan had filled vacancies reserved for representatives of the National Democratic Seniors Coordinating Council and the National Conference of Democratic Mayors respectively. Because Lawrence is from Michigan, the overall superdelegate count goes down by one.

- We've also added add-on superdelegates: Mark Wilcox of Arkansas, Reggie Whitten of Oklahoma, and Jerry Lee and Vicki Harwell of Tennessee.

- Once again, please send any superdelegate links you come across, even if its people staying undecided or re-affirming their support.

March 18

New Clinton endorsements: 2

Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha

West Virginia DNC Pat Maroney

This ends a long drought for Senator Clinton.

March 17

New Obama endorsements: 2

Illinois DNC Margie Woods

Illinois DNC Carol Ronen (announced a couple weeks ago, but just discovered by Politico)

March 14

New Obama endorsement: 1

Wisconsin DNC Melissa Schroeder

March 12

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned, depriving Clinton of a superdelegate vote. Spitzer's replacement, David Paterson, was already a delegate.

Indiana Rep. Andre Carson won a special election yesterday to replace his grandmother, Julia Carson, who died last year. He is currently uncommitted.

March 11

We've made some updates over the past few days. Over the next couple days, we'll be adding the newly selected "add-on" delegates, who are selected at state conventions.

New Obama endorsements: 6

Louisiana DNC Ben Jeffers

California DNC Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker

Newly elected Illinois Rep. Bill Foster

North Carolina DNC Joyce Brayboy

Mississippi DNC Everett Sanders

Alabama add-on DNC Stewart Burkhalter (hat tip: Demconwatch)

New Clinton endorsements: 2

California DNC Aleita Huguenin

Louisiana DNC Mary Lou Winters

March 8

New Obama endorsements: 1

Indiana DNC Connie Thurman

March 7

New Clinton endorsements: 3

Louisiana DNC Renee Gill Pratt

California Sen. Barbara Boxer (She had previously said she would endorse whoever won California, but only recently formally announced support for Clinton.)

District of Columbia DNC Mona Mohib

Thanks to all the readers who have been sending in comments and flagging endorsements. We'll be beefing up our links and updating more frequently, but we always love comments and announcements--even if it's just superdelegates staying uncommitted.

Switch from Clinton to Obama: 1

Texas DNC Denise Johnson

March 6

New Obama endorsements: 2

West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall

Neutral Nevada DNC Jill Derby has been replaced by Nevada DNC Teresa Benitez-Thompson, who is an Obama supporter.

March 5

New Obama endorsements: 5

Ohio DNC Rhine Mclin

Georgia DNC Mary Long

Georgia DNC Jane Kidd

Texas DNC Roy Laverne Brooks

South Carolina DNC Carol Khare Fowler

March 3

New Obama endorsement: 1

California DNC Member Steve Alari contacted Politico to say he announced his support on January 11

March. 2

New Obama endorsement: 1

Wisconsin DNC Joe Wineke

Feb. 29

New Obama endorsements: 5

West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller

Minnesota DNC Brian Melendez

Minnesota DNC Donna Cassutt

North Dakota DNC Renee Pfenning

Texas DNC Yvonne Davis

Feb. 28



Hillary Rodham Clinton’s superdelegate advantage appears to be in danger.



A week ago, she had about 80 more public endorsements than Barack Obama. That lead is now less than 60, and the Clinton campaign is panicking, according to a Huffington Post story by Tom Edsall.



According to the article, the Clinton team is now trying to convince superdelegates to stay mum on endorsing and let the primaries play out. Throughout the campaign, superdelegate silence has been considered the domain of Obama supporters who didn't want to muck with the process or, more likely, offend the Clinton political machine.



But now, with several polls showing Texas a toss-up and Clinton holding only a narrow lead over Obama in Ohio, there's limited time to get on the bandwagon without looking too fairweather. On Wednesday, Hillary lost the support of Texas State Rep. Senfronia Thompson and – after weeks of rumors – Georgia Rep. John Lewis, the revered civil right leader. Following those defections came Thursday’s announcement that Georgia Rep. John Barrow, who barely won re-election in 2006, would be backing Obama.

ALSO: Former DNC Chairman Kenneth Curtis moved from Maine to Florida, where none of the delegates count, bringing Clinton's count down by one and the overall superdelegate tally down to 794.

-- Avi Zenilman

Feb. 27

New Clinton endorsements: 1

Pennsylvania DNC Ronald Donatucci, like the rest of his family (see below)

New Obama endorsements: 3

North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan

South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin

Maine DNC Marianne Stevens

Switch from Clinton to Obama: 1

Georgia Rep. John Lewis

Feb. 26

New Obama endorsements: 3

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd

District of Columbia DNC/"Senator" Michael Brown

District of Columbia DNC/"Senator" Paul Strauss

New Clinton endorsements: 1

West Virginia DNC Belinda Biafore (delayed, thanks to demconwatch.blogspot.com)

Switch from Clinton to Uncommitted: 1

Pennsylvania DNC Ronald Donatucci (Politico confused him with his brother Robert, in a race where family ties don't always translate into politics)

Feb. 25

Counting super-delegates is like an endless game of whack-a-mole: Every time you think you’ve pinned them all down, another little bugger pops up and changes their mind. A couple of weeks of intense press scrutiny shoved the 795 or so kingmakers into the spotlight, gauged their preferences, and now things seem to have settled. Most remaining superdelegates seem either unwilling to pick a side or more than willing to wait it out.

When we launched our superdelegate site two weeks ago, we calculated that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) led Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) by a 222 to 128 margin. As of last Wednesday afternoon, Clinton lead 247 to 168.5—as of today, she leads 245 to 177.5, with Obama snagging endorsements from prominent black figures in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Remember, these numbers are estimates prone to mood swings, dips, and margins of error – every superdelegate, from Al Gore to an obscure committeeman from Oregon, can always switch their support.

And while Clinton still holds a numeric lead in superdelegates the dynamic of the race bodes well for Obama. There is an emerging consensus among superdelegates that they shouldn’t override the pledged delegate results, and he’s steadily chipping into Clinton’s lead.

Superdelegates have become aware of their power and role in the party. John Knutson, chairman of the Maine Democratic Party, announced his support for Barack Obama because he won the state's caucus Feb. 10. Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.) and Rep. Steve Kagen (Wis.) endorsed Obama because he won every Wisconsin district last Tuesday. Sen. Russ Feingold, who admitted that he voted for Obama, said his performance in Wisconsin meant he'd probably vote for him at the convention. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, whose state is holding its primary March 4, said last week he was staying uncommitted.

“I just think, ‘Let the voters decide,’” Brown told Politico.

Michael Thurmond, the Georgia State Labor Commissioner, who endorsed Clinton in the primary, told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that his endorsement doesn't necessarily translate into a vote for her at the convention. Rep. Jay Inslee (Wash.) seemed to back off his choice of Hillary because she lost the Washington caucus – before explaining that there had been a miscommunication and that he still supports the former first lady’s White House bid.

To hold fire to the feet of any superdelegate who tries to vote against the wishes of his or her constituents, a gaggle of Democratic bloggers and activists have launched the Superdelegate Transparency Project. (The Wall Street Journal also put together a handy list.)

Many superdelegates around the country, such as Jean Marie Lehrman of Montana and party chair Michael Cryor of Maryland, told Politico that they were going to wait to endorse, so that they could let Democratic voters decide.

That wait-and-see attitude likely works to the advantage of Obama, who has had a good couple of weeks. New Jersey DNC member Roz Samuels and Rep. David Scott of Georgia both shifted their support from Clinton to Obama about two weeks ago. This was followed by a reported rumor that Rep. John Lewis of Georgia was switching. The veteran lawmaker later clarified his statement to suggest that while he was still endorsing Clinton, he wasn't going to stand in Obama's way. All of these Democratic officials are African-American.

Then the SEIU endorsed Obama, snagging him the votes of Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and prompting a switch to Obama by Iowa DNC member Sarah Swisher, who had at different points endorsed Clinton and former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

While the machinations continue among existing superdelegates, there are still some slots to be filled. An updated list of superdelegates provided by the Democratic National Committee to Politico (officially "unpledged delegates") shows vacancies in Illinois, for two members-at-large, on the National Democratic Conference of Mayors and the National Democratic Seniors Coordinating council.

The list also reflects the ambiguity over the status of superdelegates from Michigan and Florida, which have been officially stripped of representation at the national convention in Denver. No names of superdelegates from the Wolverine and Sunshine states were to be found on the list.

-- Avi Zenilman

New Obama endorsements: 8

Ohio DNC Mark Mallory

Maryland DNC Mary Jo Neville (per interview with Politico)

Massachusetts DNC Margaret Xifaras

Pennsylvania DNC Leon Lynch

Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett

Wisconsin Rep. Steve Kagen

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold

Wisconson DNC Jason Rae