The Edwards Primary Begins

Earlier, I wrote that the effect of John Edwards' endorsement of Senator Obama could in fact create a full swing of the 19 pledged delegates earned by Edwards during the Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. These 19 delegates would constitute a victory equal to that of the combined delegate victories that Senator Clinton won in Ohio (7) and West Virginia (12).

Signs of movement among these pledged delegates to Obama are already taking place.

New Hampshire: Four Edwards' Delegates

A New Hampshire pledged delegate won by Edwards has declared his support for Obama. Josh Denton, a 26-year-old Iraq war veteran, is one of Edwards' four pledged delegates from the Granite State. The other three Edwards' delegates have not indicated that they will follow suit anytime soon.

With the pickup of Denton, Obama is officially the delegate winner of New Hampshire, breaking the previous 9-9-4 tie with Clinton and victory over Edwards as a result of that contest.


South Carolina: Eight Edwards Delegates

Of the eight pledged delegates that Edwards won in South Carolina, there is now a report that six of them will back Senator Obama. CNN is also reporting this, and provided the list of names of the Edwards' delegates moving to Obama:

• Daniel Boan
• Christine Brennan-Bond
• Robert Groce
• Susan Smith
• Mike Evatt
• Lauren Bilton

Alternate Edwards' delegate and Edwards' South Carolina Campaign Chair John Moylan also indicated that the other two pledged delegates are also likely to follow Edwards' lead in supporting Senator Obama

Iowa: Four Confirmed and Three Expected Edwards Delegates

So far, no word yet on any Iowa pledged delegates for Edwards making any switches. Edwards has four pledged delegates guaranteed and another three that were expected to go to him once Iowa confirms all of its delegates in June. This article gives a sense of what is happening in Iowa and how there will probably be movement at some point by these delegates to Obama or to Clinton.


CONCLUSION:

The Obama and Clinton campaigns have had their eyes on these stranded delegates for awhile, with Clinton's camp contacting Edwards' delegates in Iowa and Obama contacting Edwards' delegates in South Carolina.

So far, these articles confirm a movement of seven Edwards' delegates into the Obama column, with possibly more to come.

Obama's pledged delegate total has increased to 1606, just 21 pledged delegates short of the magic number of 1627 needed to claim a victory in the pledged delegate count.