|
|
| |
| Fri, Nov. 21, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Clinton not taking Arkansas' superdelegates for granted Sunday, Jun 1, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Martha Dixon of Arkadelphia knew it wasn't just a friendly call when Hillary Clinton phoned her on Mother's Day. "She called me and wished me a happy Mothers Day, and I said, "Happy Mothers Day to you, Hillary - now what is the real reason you called?'" Dixon said last week. She already know the answer. Even though Dixon has endorsed the New York senator and serves as co-chairman of her campaign in Arkansas, Clinton wanted to make sure Dixon, a member of the Democratic National Committee and a superdelegate, was still in her camp. "I told her that I wasn't going to jump the fence, I'm still on her side," Dixon said. In the 11th hour of the Democratic nominating race, Clinton has been intensifying efforts to win or hold onto the support of the party's nearly 800 superdelegates - party leaders and elected officials who are guaranteed seats at the Democratic National Convention and can vote however they choose. Among Arkansas' superdelegates, Clinton appears to have little to worry about. Eleven of the state's 12 superdelegates have endorsed her, and all of those 11 who could be reached last week said they stand by their endorsement. The only superdelegate from the state who has not endorsed the former Arkansas first lady is DNC Vice Chairman Lottie Shackelford of Little Rock. She is one of about 200 superdelegates nationally who have not endorsed any candidate. "As an officer (in the DNC), we will remain neutral throughout this process until we get to the convention," Shackelford said Thursday. Clinton has good reason not to take any superdelegate's support for granted. Though she led Barack Obama in endorsements from superdelegates for most of the campaign, the Illinois senator took the lead in May and now has the support of about 53 percent of superdelegates who have stated a preference, including some who initially endorsed Clinton but later switched. Obama leads Clinton by almost 200 overall delegates. His campaign has said it is only 45 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to secure the nomination. As unpledged delegates, superdelegates can change their mind up to the moment they cast their vote. If the race does not end before the August convention, the superdelegates' votes will be seen as tie-breakers. No wonder the Clinton campaign keeps calling. "They haven't called me in probably 10 days or so, but they reach out maybe once every couple of weeks," said Bill Gwatney, state Democratic Party chairman. "I finally told them that there was no need for them to. I told them that I was there until it was over and they didn't need to worry about me." State Commissioner of Lands Mark Wilcox said the Clinton campaign has been calling him "usually about (every) week or 10 days." Gov. Mike Beebe still gets calls, too. "But she needn't reach out to me," he said. "I'm still for her." Shackelford said she has been inundated with e-mails from both the Clinton and Obama campaigns. "I'm just deleting them. I can't read all of that. ... I don't think anybody ever expected the intensity to get to where it is," she said. In a letter Clinton sent to superdelegates last week, she argued that she holds a popular-vote lead over Obama and would be better positioned than him to defeat Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive GOP nominee, in the general election. "I hope you will think about who is ready to stand on that stage with Sen. McCain, fight for the deepest principles of our party and lead our country forward into this new century," Clinton said in the letter. The Obama campaign has rejected those arguments, saying the race is about delegates. A Gallup poll conducted in March found that supporters of Clinton and Obama disagreed on the question of how superdelegates should decide their vote. Sixty-four percent of Obama supporters said superdelegates should vote for the candidate who has won more delegates in primaries and caucuses, while 60 percent of Clinton supporters said superdelegates should vote for the candidate who would be a better president. In interviews, Arkansas' superdelegates cited a number of reasons for supporting Clinton, including her strength as a general election candidate, her political skills and experience, her connections to Arkansas and her resounding win in Arkansas' Democratic primary. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said his constituents made their feelings clear in that election. "She got 70 percent, versus whatever everybody else got" he said. "She won 70 percent of the vote." |
