SPRINGFIELD — Despite Bernie Sanders' campaign strategy to win the Democratic presidential nomination by wooing support away from Hillary Clinton, so-called "superdelegates" and delegates selected to represent the former first lady in Western Massachusetts largely remain firm in their commitment to her White House bid.

Trailing Clinton in the delegate count, Sanders' campaign has announced it will look to persuade delegates and superdelegates committed to Clinton to instead support the Vermont senator at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer — something Tad Devine, a senior strategist for Sanders, said is allowed under party rules.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, who is one of the state's 25 unpledged — or super — delegates, said he doesn't believe the Sanders campaign will have much success in changing the minds of congressional leaders and other superdelegates who have committed to supporting Clinton.

"I think the superdelegates signed up for her a long time ago," he said, pointing to Massachusetts' U.S. House members chairing all nine of the state's congressional district delegate caucuses.

Congressman Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, another superdelegate who has openly campaigned for Clinton, meanwhile, contended that the superdelegates likely won't matter come the convention.

"I think the eventual nominee will be the one with the most committed delegates. And that's the way it should be," he said in a statement. "More than 16 million Americans have already voted in the Democratic primary and I am confident that their votes, and not the superdelegates, will be the ones that determine who our nominee will be."

While Sanders' Massachusetts spokesman, Joe Caiazzo, said the campaign will not actively court Clinton's 46 pledged delegates due to state party rules, superdelegates are a different story.

The campaign, he said, is encouraging supporters to politely and appropriately contact their local superdelegates.

"I think it's incumbent upon someone in that situation to look around and say, 'Am I doing what's best for my district to represent my people?'" he said. "I fully respect every superdelegate and their ability to chose whomever they want, but I think it's important to understand that they've been elected to represent (others)."

State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, a co-chair of the Vermont senator's statewide campaign, agreed, saying superdelegates in Massachusetts and across the country should represent the will of the voters.

"What I've been hearing from people in my district, in my region, is that they hope the superdelegates from Massachusetts will ultimately reflect that it was a very close primary here, that the Democrats in this state were divided on who their pick should be," he said. "I'm hoping throughout the country that should Bernie Sanders continue to win primaries and caucuses and should it be a really close election that they as well not go against the will of the people of the nation."

Due to the closeness of Massachusetts' March 1 primary election between Clinton and Sanders, the two Democrats largely received the same number of pledged delegates in the state. These include a respective 30 and 29 congressional district delegates, as well as 10 at-large and six party-leader and elected-official delegates apiece.

Delegates selected to represent Clinton from Massachusetts' first congressional district at recent caucuses rejected the Sanders campaign's national strategy, stressing that they are committed to casting a ballot for the former secretary of state.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who is among three delegates representing the district for Clinton, questioned how the Sanders campaign could make a convincing case for the nomination.

"Hillary Clinton has 2.5 million more votes than Bernie Sanders and will have more pledged delegates at the national convention, so there's no argument that can be made that any pledged delegate or any superdelegate is pushed to Sanders when he has less popular vote and less actual earned delegates through elections," he said. "Hillary has the case to have the nomination because of that."

Former Democratic State Committee Treasurer Nicole LaChapelle, the lone female selected to represent the district for Clinton at the nominating convention, meanwhile, said she was surprised and disappointed by the Sanders campaign's strategy.

"The one thing, when I look at the Sanders campaign, is they're tried and true, their fidelity to those core values of 'taking over the country is revolution,'" she said. "For them to now, this far into primary season, look at the minutae of the plans and start picking it apart — not to pick apart the system, but to really overtake the system — very much surprised me."

Springfield School Committee member Rev. Calvin McFadden, who was also selected to represent the district for Clinton, added that while the Vermont senator's campaign may be able to win some delegates, he won't be among them.

"They may be able to sway others, but they can't sway me," he said. "I believe that Hillary Clinton is going to be successful and she's going to be our nominee."

Community Against Hate founder Maurice Taylor, who will represent the first congressional district for Sanders in Philadelphia, acknowledged that the Vermont senator's campaign faces an uphill battle in swaying Massachusetts delegates.

"They're not going to win Massachusetts superdelegates with the idea that he was only beat by a small margin. Come on, what person with any common sense listens to an argument like that?" he said. "As strong of a (Sanders) supporter as I am, I'd need to listen to another argument."

Springfield City Councilor Adam Gomez, who was unsuccessful in his own congressional district delegate bid to represent Sanders, meanwhile, said he believes the campaign needs to take its fight day-by-day, adding that at the end of the primary process Democrats need to come together and support their nominee.

"I'm going with Bernie the whole way, I'm not holding up, I'm not letting up, I'm not going to switch sides, my loyalty is where I said — my word is my word," he said. "That's where I stand.... If he's not named the nominee, I think we have to be realistic and look at the other candidates that sit on the other side of the terrain — those gentlemen do not represent what the American people want."

McGovern also noted the importance of the party coming together around the eventual nominee.

"Supporters of both candidates will continue to be passionate about who they support," he said. "I expect that; I'm encouraged by it. At the end of the day, whether it's Hillary or Bernie, we all need to unite so we can win in November and move our country forward."