Getty Sanders allies defeated on superdelegate amendment

PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Bernie Sanders and his allies suffered a defeat Saturday afternoon over an amendment to eliminate superdelegates.

The amendment, which came before the Democratic National Convention Committee’s Rules Committee, was defeated in a vote of 58 yeas to 108 nays. It came after a heated debate and as advocates for eliminating the superdelegate system chanted “end superdelegates” outside the ballroom hall.


The silver lining for superdelegate protesters, though, is that the vote got the 25 percent support it needed for a minority report to bring the proposal up again on the convention floor.

The amendment was brought by Rhode Island state Rep. Aaron Regunberg. A number of supporters spoke in favor of eliminating superdelegates, including Sanders-surrogate and former Chicago mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia.

“I think everybody here should seriously consider supporting this proposal,” Garcia said. Supporters cheered while Regunberg and Garcia explained their support.

Opponents spoke up as well.

Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, a pro-Clinton Rules committee member, said there were strong arguments in favor of keeping and eliminating superdelegates but that the Rules Committee could not properly fix the problem.

“There are other members of our party that believe we should maintain the system in this entirety and others who think it should be reviewed,” Webb said before saying he disagreed.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee spoke up in opposition of the amendment as well. Her opposition follows the Congressional Black Caucus sending a letter to party leaders in June arguing that eliminating superdelegates would unfairly hinder African-American supporters.

“I stand in opposition for the reason of wanting all voices to be heard across the country,” Jackson Lee said.