|
|
|
|
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 06:21:22 pm
Brad Shannon, political reporter for The Olympian, and I spent some time today talking to Washington's uncommitted superdelegates. The question: Do you have any plans to commit to a candidate now that headlines are declaring Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid all but over? The answer: Not for now. What follows is a good portion of a story written by Shannon and I that will run in Thursday's paper. It will accompany a national story by the McClatchy national political reporter. Stay tuned, the superdelegates will have to make a call (or change their phone numbers) sooner or later: “I think over the next 48 hours I’ll be talking to the other uncommitted delegates in the state to see where the mood is. ... It may be time for us to make that choice as a Washington delegation,’’ superdelegate and party vice chairwoman Eileen Macoll of Pullman said Wednesday by telephone. “It’s definitely time to have a serious discussion.’’ But state party chairman Dwight Pelz and David McDonald, a member of the Democratic National Committee, say they’ll stay out of it for now. “I remain uncommitted. Perhaps not all the way to the convention, but I’m the chair of the party and we’re still picking delegates,” Pelz said. He says he hopes the party can have a nominee in June and avoid a divisive national convention. “I think it’s clear that Obama took a major step forward yesterday and Hillary has to make the case why she should be the nominee of the party,’’ Pelz said. “I think this has increased the pressure on Hillary but she feels strongly she has a lot to offer the party and the country.’’ Six of the state’s superdelegates are with Hillary Clinton, four with Barack Obama and seven are uncommitted -- part of the phalanx of superdelegates nationwide who could help throw the nomination to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama before or during the Aug. 25-28 national convention. Pelz said he has not heard of other delegates changing positions after Tuesday’s results. McDonald, who serves on the rules and bylaws committee of the national committee, said choosing sides could create the appearance of favoritism: His committee will review the status of Michigan and Florida’s delegates, barred from participating in the national convention after they scheduled their primaries early in the year without approval. “I am not planning to make a decision or issue any statements until we are finished with the challenges,” he said. The hearing is scheduled for May 31. Update: The following list was updated tonight. There are conflicting reports about a few of the superdelegates. For now, we're going with sourcewatch.org. The six superdelegates sided with Clinton are U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell; U.S. Reps. Norm Dicks of Belfair and Jay Inslee of Bainbridge Island; King County Executive Ron Sims; and former U.S. Rep. Tom Foley. Those with Obama are Gov. Chris Gregoire, U.S. Reps. Brian Baird of Vancouver and Adam Smith of Tacoma; and party official Pat Notter. The undecideds are Macoll, Pelz, McDonald, U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen of Everett and Jim McDermott of Seattle, and party officials Ed Cote of Vancouver and Sharon Mast.
Categories: Campaign news, President
• 5 comments
COMMENTS:Comments are not allowed from anonymous visitors. Please login or register to comment. |
Political Buzz
A team of experienced reporters keep you updated on what's happening in political arenas at the city, county, state and federal levels. From presidential campaign visits to who's running for city council, we've got it covered. Contributors
Niki Sullivan covers politics. Before coming to Tacoma, she covered state government in Oregon. She is a regular contributor to the GritCity blog. Email Niki Local politics links
• Chris Mulick's Olympia Dispatch• Brad Shannon's Campaign Trail • Postman on Politics • Sound Politics • Horse's Ass • Richard Roesler's Eye on Olympia • P-I's Strange Bedfellows Category
Calendar
Archives
What is RSS? Misc
Who's Online?
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||