Delegate Taxonomy

To win the Democrat Party Nomination, a candidate must earn a majority of the delegates awarded throughout the nomination process. As there is a total of 4,049 delegates currently, a candidate will need 2,025 to declare victory.

Delegate Taxonomy

There are two classifications of delegates that a candidate can earn in the race for the nomination: pledged and super.

Pledged Delegates

Pledged Delegates are those delegates earned through the course of each of the 55 election contests held during the primary season. These contests include those held in all 50 states, one for Democrats Abroad, and four for United States territories (Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).

Each jurisdiction selects the manner by which their delegates are apportioned--by caucus, primary, or even a "primacaucus".

For the 2008 Democrat Primary, there are 3,253 pledged delegates allocated in the 55 contests.


Superdelegates are those delegates designated by the Democratic National Committee by virtue of one of the following characteristics [number]:

1. Democratic Governor [31 ]
2. Democratic US Senator [48]
3. Democratic US Congressmember [219]
4. Democratic Congressional Delegates [4] -- (ex officio Congressional representatives from the four United States Territories: Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands)
5. Distinguished Party Leaders [20] -- (former Presidents, Vice Presidents and Party Luminaries)
6. Democratic National Committee selections [398] -- (members and officers of the DNC --such as state party chairs -- and groups affiliated with the DNC -- such as College Democrats of America)
7. Add-on Delegates [76] -- Additional delegates allocated to each of the 55 jurisdictions on basis of population, with the rules and timing for selecting the delegates created by each jurisdiction.

For the 2008 Democrat Primary, there are 796 superdelegates allocated total for each of the seven categories.

Total Delegates:

3253 Pledged Delegates + 796 Superdelegates = 4049 Delegates

Caveats:

1. If an elected officeholder (Governor, Senator, Congressmember) considered as a superdelegate at any point no longer holds the office prior to the Democrat National Convention as a result of resignation, party turnover or death, then the number of total delegates in the Democrat Primary decreases by one, and could thus alter the number of delegates needed for a majority.
2. If the Democrat Party wins an office prior to the Democrat National Convention (Governor, Senator, Congressmember), then that officeholder shall become a superdelegate and the number of total delegates in the Democrat Primary shall increase by one, and could thus alter the number of delegates needed for a majority
3. In the Democrats Abroad jurisdiction, each delegate gets half a vote, so there are eight delegates available but only four votes
4. The States of Florida and Michigan were stripped of all pledged and superdelegates as a result of the State's action to move these primaries ahead of the Super Tuesday election date.