Kentucky Democrats Name Obama Supporter As Add-On Delegate

Senator Obama passed on major test of party unity yesterday when the Kentucky Democratic Party, convening to name the delegates to the National Convention, also selected an Obama supporter as their add-on delegate.

As I noted here, the ability of the Kentucky Democratic Party to nominate an Obama supporter would show how far the state party was willing to unite around the presumpive nominee, despite his overwhelming loss in the state primary to Senator Clinton.

Matthew Barzun, an Obama backer, was named the Kentucky add-on delegate.

In other Kentucky news, three uncommitted Kentucky superdelegates--Governor Steve Beshear, State Chairwoman Jennifer Moore, and Vice-Chairman Nathan Smith--pledged themselves to Senator Obama at the Convention.

Oklahoma Chairman Ivan Holmes for Obama

Another superdelegate comes out for Obama--this one's the Chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic State Party.

We're now officially in the area where coordination of superdelegates to hold off on announcements is important so that the pledged delegates from South Dakota and Montana push Obama over the top.

Florida Super Glasser for Obama

I must have missed this one earlier. Florida superdelegate Diane Glasser has endorsed Senator Obama and adds 0.5 delegates to his count.

Two More Supers for Obama Later Today

According to Ben Smith's blog, two more superdelegates are announcing for Senator Obama:

• California congressman Sam Farr
• Maryland DNC member Bel Leong-Hong

It sounds like Farr is announcing tonight, while Hong has already announced.

I swear these new announcements went up as I was hitting the "publish" key just now.

Obama is now 12 delegates away from going over the 2118 mark. Expect the superdelegate flood to calm down for now so that Obama can gain the symbolic victory of the South Dakota and Montana elections putting him over the top. I am assuming the Obama campaign can embargo these announcements until tomorrow at this point.

It will be interesting to see which superdelegate announcement was the magic one. I'll go back and look at the announcement times.

Senator Clinton gains a Florida Super

More from Ben Smith:

In a strange move, Florida superdelegate Jon Ausman, who played a key role in forging the Florida and Michigan compromises in last weekend's Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting that spurned Clinton's demands, declared his support for Clinton.

Not because he feels Clinton is the best candidate, mind you. No, Ausman decided to endorse Clinton because he wants to "send a message that he [Obama] needs to unify our party." Huh?

Ausman didn't make this choice while he felt his endorsement could make an impact, however. Instead, he waited until he heard that Obama had enough votes to put him over the top, so that such a move would be purely symbolic.

Interesting. Score 0.5 delegates for Clinton, but it sounds like Ausman will vote for Obama at the Convention, so I'm not sure exactly how you score this one!

Obama Breaks Clinton Stanglehold on NY Supers

On the day when he is expected to win the Democratic Nomination, Senator Obama gained a major symbolic endorsement from a New York superdelegate, Ralph Dawson.

Dawson had been the subject of speculation earlier in the campaign based on his desire to remain uncommitted despite having been reported to have given $1000 to the Obama campaign, and an undisclosed amount to the Clinton campaign as well.

Of the 46 automatic superdelegates and 3 add-on delegates from Senator Clinton's base of power, New York, all but 3 have endorsed their home Senator. Dawson becomes the second Obama supporter from this huge group, with only Party Leader George Mitchell remaining on the sidelines.

Compare this total to the 31 total (28 automatic, 3 add-on) superdelegates from Illinois, of which 28 have endorsed Obama, none for Clinton, and three undeclared still.

Just a side note to a long campaign in which each candidate had his or her own base of power--in this case Illinois proved more monolithic and stronger than New York, despite previous conventional wisdom.

Remember Margaret Campbell?

She was the Montana DNC Superdelegate who endorsed Obama but then had to retract her endorsement citing State Party rules that do not allow such endorsements during a contested primary.

Senator Obama is favored in the Montana contest. Once that contest goes official tomorrow night, it is expected that Campbell will finally be able to make her announcement publicly.

A Washington State Super for Obama

David McDonald, a Washington DNC member, has announced his support for Senator Obama today.

Of interest is that McDonald was one of the 30-member DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee that decided the fate of Michigan and Florida this past Saturday. McDonald pledged to be neutral until after that decision was made.

Superdelegate Endorsements for June 2, 2008

I will just link to Demconwatch for these announcements...it's much easier.

Obama gains 3.5 automatic delegates, Clinton gains 2.0.

Obama: 3.5

Connecticut State Chair Nancy DiNardo (1.0)
Virginia DNC Member Jerome Wiley Segovia (1.0)
Michigan DNC Member Brenda Lawrence (0.5)
Michigan DNC Member Lu Battaglieri (0.5)
Florida DNC Member Janee Murphy (0.5)

Clinton: 2.0

Louisiana State Chair Chris Wittington (1.0)
New York DNC Member Irene Stein (1.0)

Nevada Super Declares for Obama

Yesterday, Yvonne Gates, a Nevada automatic superdelegate and a member of the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee, endorsed Senator Obama.

Two Texas Supers for Obama

Husband and Wife team Boyd and Bettie Richie have announced their endorsement of Senator Barack Obama.

Boyd Richie serves as the Texas Democratic Party Chairman and his wife is a DNC superdelegate for the state as well.

The announcement by Mr. Richie at this time bodes well for Senator Obama's prospects in gaining add-on delegates at the Texas state convention in June.

Clinton Gains Washington State Super

Eileen Macoll, a Washington superdelegate, has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton.

Macoll is the DNC Vice Chairwoman for the Washington State Party. In her announcement she cited her view that Clinton still had a chance for the nomination, and that voting for a female candidate also played a role in her mindset. In a sign that this decision was more cosmetic than aggressive at this point of the race, Macoll also noted that she will support Obama 100% should he be named the Democratic Nominee.

Another Oregonian for Obama

Oregon DNC automatic superdelegate Wayne Kinney has announced his support for Senator Obama.

From Kinney's press release:

Senator Obama wasn’t supposed to be able to get this far. One member of
Congress from Illinois said that for Sen. Obama to win the nomination, he’d have
to be perfect. He’s been pretty damned good. The fact that this nomination is
still inches from being decided is a testament to the abilities of both Sen.
Obama and Sen. Clinton.

While there are a few primaries left to go, it’s now over for Oregon. Sen. Obama won our state by almost 18 points. He is very close to winning a majority of the delegates he needs to be our nominee for President.

But there should be more to my decision than that. After all, we automatic, “super” delegates are not automatons. We are not here to ratify. We’re expected to use our judgment. Here’s mine: After watching Sen. Obama for more than a year, it’s clear that he offers an ability to lead and inspire that’s been sorely lacking in this country.
Senator Obama will win our nomination, and will be our President.

It felt good to write that sentence.

An Add-On for Clinton, a Congressman and State Chair for Obama

In the wake of a split decision in Oregon and Kentucky, the stream of superdelegates has slowed down today considerably from last week when Senator Obama was rolling out 4-5 superdelegates a day.

Senator Clinton won the second add-on delegate for Ohio, after the first one opted to endorse Obama. As Ben Smith at Politico.com reported, Ohio add-on Craig Bashein has endorsed Senator Clinton.

There was discussion that the Ohio state party would select an Obama and a Clinton supporter for its add-on delegates. The timing of this add-on delegate's decision was most likely orchestrated by the Clinton campaign to build on the Kentucky win yesterday.

Senator Obama picked up two superdelegates today--Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney from and Mississippi State Party Chairman Wayne Dowdy.

Obama Wins Over 5 Superdelegates Monday, 2 More So Far on Tuesday

In the run-up to the Oregon and Kentucky primaries (52 and 51 pledged delegates respectively), Senator Obama has racked up at least another seven superdelegates. Senator Clinton has not garnered a superdelegate since California DNC superdelegate Umemoto announced for her last Friday.

The seven supers for Obama:

Two members of the Alaska superdelegate pool, DNC members Cindy Spanyers and Blake Johnson. These two superdelegates were the last two uncommitted in the state, although the Alaska add-on delegate will be named on May 23rd. Alaska has four automatic superdelegates (Obama leads 3-1) and one add-on superdelegate.

Bookending Kansas Lieutenant Governor Parkinson's endorsement of Obama over the weekend as an add-on delegate, Kansas Democratic Party Chair Larry Gates has also announced for Obama.

Another State Chairman, this time Washington's Dwight Pelz, also came out for Obama. This development may net another two add-on delegates for Obama on June 15th when the state of Washington holds its state convention. Pelz, as State Chairman, will make the nominations for the add-on delegates to be voted upon by the State Committee. As we've seen before, State Chair decisions play heavily in deciding who the add-on delegates will be for certain states.

As Senator Obama prepares to accept the results of the Oregon primary today in Iowa, it is fitting that he would also pick up the support of Iowa Democratic State Chair Scott Brennan.

Just a few weeks after Obama squeaked out a win in Guam by seven votes, he has now picked up the support of Guam superdelegate Madeleine Bordallo.

Finally, and most importantly, the second of West Virginia's Senators, Robert Byrd, has endorsed Senator Obama's candidacy for President.


And another Michigan Superdelegate for Obama

And to put this out there, Michigan superdelegate Eric Coleman, Oakland County Commissioner, has endorsed Obama. While this endorsement doesn't mean much today, it may mean a lot more if the Michigan delegate is allowed to be seated at the Convention. This announcement makes the invalidated superdelegate count from Michigan to be Clinton 8, Obama 4, Undeclared 16, with two add-on delegates to be named on June 14th.

Clinton Wins Support of California Super Umemoto

California superdelegate Keith Umemoto pledged his support for Senator Clinton yesterday, according to the Associated Press. I did not see a press release so I don't have more information to share, other than the fact that Umemoto is the DNC Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus.

Obama Gains another Superdelegate

Another day, another superdelegate.

Senator Obama received the endorsement of Greg Pecoraro today.

An excerpt of Pecoraro's press release:

Today, I am very excited to join the large majority of Maryland Democrats
who expressed their enthusiasm for Senator Obama’s candidacy in our state's
presidential primary. Like them, I believe Barack Obama is the right leader for
our time. With Barack Obama as our nominee and as our President, we have real
hope that a new way of governing the nation is at hand. I strongly believe
that Senator Obama offers us the best opportunity we have had for many years to
turn away from the politics of division and despair, and look towards an America
of opportunity and progress.

More Superdelegates for Obama

Two high profile Jewish Congressmen from California have declared their support for Senator Obama today. Congressmen Henry Waxman and Howard Berman, both of Los Angeles, have announced that they are supporting the candidacy of Barack Obama.

Beyond the shot of support to Senator Obama from highly-regarded political leaders in the Jewish community, these endorsements also give Obama the backing of two highly-ranked Committee Chairmen, as Waxman chairs the House Oversight Committee and Berman chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Also, Obama picked up the endorsement of Congressman Jim McDermott, who represents the Seattle area of Washington. McDermott becomes Obama's fifth superdelegate from the state of Washington, tying Senator Clinton's support in the state.

Finally, Obama also won the support of Washington DC superdelegate and Communications Workers for America President Larry Cohen. Talkingpointsmemo notes that "this is also Obama's second labor endorsement today, having picked up the backing of the steelworkers' union this morning -- suggesting that John Edwards' endorsement of Obama yesterday is hastening the coalescing of institutional support behind the Illinois Senator".

These four automatic delegates bring Obama's total up to 274.5, a nine automatic delegate lead over Clinton. Overall, Obama leads Clinton 1897.5 to 1723.5 in total delegates.

Obama Endorsed by Michigan Superdelegate Ficano

Although the endorsement doesn't change any of the current vote totals because of the penalty on Michigan delegates, this announcement still gives Obama some momentum during his high-profile trip to Michigan.

Gaining traction in Michigan will be very helpful for Obama as it raises the possibility of seating the Michigan delegation as more of that state's superdelegates endorse him, and also the implication that Obama can win Michigan if he campaigns there.

Bob Ficano is the Wayne County Executive.

Another Superdelegate for Obama

This one's from Wisconsin. According to Ben Smith, Lena Taylor is a DNC superdelegate and a State Senator.