The way the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination is shaping up, a select group of less than 1,000 people could determine whether the party's presidential nominee is Illinois Senator Barack Obama or New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
This select group is composed of the party's so-called super delegates - lawmakers and party officials who can vote for anyone they choose regardless of the outcomes in their state primary or caucus.
The magic number of delegates needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination is 2,025. Currently, Obama leads Clinton by roughly 100 delegates.
However, if the latest polls are to be believed, Clinton is expected to win in the delegate rich states of Texas and Ohio on March 4th. If she does, she will draw even or pull ahead of Obama and throw the race into a virtual dead heat with the two expected to split the remaining states relatively evenly.
Thus, by the time the Democratic Party convention rounds around in August, it will be the super delegates who will be in the position to determine the winner. Currently, both Obama and Clinton are vigorously courting the super delegates. Both former President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea have been on the phones for Mrs. Clinton. But Obama supporters have not been shy about calling the super delegates either.
Currently, Clinton is thought to be leading among the super delegates but Obama has been gaining support and few are prepared to predict how the votes will flow in August.
IN OTHER SUPER DELEGATE NEWS ...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) refused to say Saturday if he plans to vote for Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's national convention in August.
Lewis turned a lot of heads on Thursday when he apparently told a New York Times reporter that he would cast his ballot at the convention for Obama, rather than Hillary Clinton, whom he has endorsed.
On Friday it was a different story as Lewis' office told the AJC that the Times' story was "inaccurate," but refused to give any other details and has not responded to requests for clarification.
Jeff Zeleny, the reporter for the Times who wrote the original story, told the Atlanta paper that Lewis was clear in his support for Obama.
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