Define super delegate

Answer 1

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"Superdelegate" is an informal term for some of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the quadrennial convention of the United States Democratic Party. Unlike most convention delegates, the superdelegates are not selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state. Instead, the superdelegates are seated automatically, based solely on their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials. They are free to support any candidate for the nomination. The Democratic Party rules do not use the term "superdelegate". The formal designation (in Rule 9.A) is "unpledged party leader and elected official delegates".[1] In addition to these unpledged "PLEO" delegates, the state parties choose other unpledged delegates (Rule 9.B) and pledged PLEO delegates (Rule 9.C).[1] This article discusses only the unpledged PLEO delegates. The Republican Party also seats some party officials as delegates without regard to primary or caucus results, but the term "superdelegate" is most commonly applied only in the Democratic Party. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention the superdelegates will make up approximately one-fifth of the total number of delegates. The unforeseen and unprecedented closeness of the race between the leading contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama following Super Tuesday has focused attention on the potential role of the superdelegates in selecting the Democratic nominee, inasmuch as in the aggregate they could come to be kingmakers to a degree not seen in previous election cycles.[2] Such an outcome would result in the first brokered convention since 1952. [hide]

* 1 History * 2 Superdelegates in 2008 ** 2.1 Pledged and unpledged delegates * 3 Criticism * 4 See also * 5 References * 6 External links After the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party implemented changes in its delegate selection process, based on the work of the McGovern-Fraser Commission. The purpose of the changes was to make the composition of the convention less subject to control by party leaders and more responsive to the votes cast during the campaign for the nomination. These comprehensive changes left some Democrats believing that the role of party leaders and elected officials had been unduly diminished, weakening the Democratic ticket. In response, the superdelegate rule was instituted after the 1980 election. Its purpose was to accord a greater role to active politicians.[3] In the 1984 election, the major contenders for the Presidential nomination were Gary Hart and Walter Mondale. Each of them won some primaries and caucuses. Hart was only slightly behind Mondale in the total number of votes cast, but Mondale won the support of almost all the superdelegates and became the nominee.[4] The superdelegates have not always prevailed, however. In the Democratic primary phase of the 2004 election, Howard Dean acquired an early lead in delegate counts by obtaining the support of a number of superdelegates before even the first primaries were held. Nevertheless, John Kerry defeated Dean in a succession of primaries and caucuses and won the nomination. Superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention include all Democratic members of the United States Congress, Democratic governors, various additional elected officials, members of the Democratic National Committee, as well as "all former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee."[1] There is an exception, however, for otherwise qualified individuals who endorse another party's candidate for President; they lose their superdelegate status. In 2008, Senator Joe Lieberman was disqualified as a superdelegate because he endorsed Republican John McCain.[5] A list of superdelegates can be found here. Another list of endorsing superdelegates is available here The 2008 Democratic National Convention will have approximately 796[6] superdelegates, although the number can change up to the beginning of the convention (Call to the Convention Section IV(C)(2)). Delegates from state caucuses and primaries will number 3,253, resulting in a total number of delegate votes of 4,049. A candidate needs a majority of that total, or 2,025, to win the nomination.[6] Superdelegates account for approximately one fifth (19.6%) of all votes at the convention. Delegates chosen in the Democratic caucuses and primaries account for approximately four-fifths (80.4%) of the Democratic convention delegates.[6][7] Note: All numbers in this section assume that Michigan and Florida delegates are not counted per current Democratic National Committee rules. If those rules are changed before or during the convention, the numbers above will change as appropriate. In the Republican Party, as in the Democratic Party, members of the party's national committee automatically become delegates without being pledged to any candidate. In 2008, there are 123 members of the Republican National Committee among the total of 2,380 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention.[7] There are three RNC delegates (the national committeeman, national committeewoman, and state party chair) for each state, except for the ones who had primary contests before Super Tuesday. [8] Despite this similarity in procedure, the term "superdelegate" is generally used only about Democratic delegates, although there are exceptions.[9] The Democratic Party rules distinguish between pledged and unpledged delegates, with the selection of the former being based on their announced preferences in the contest for the presidential nomination.[1] In the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state, voters express their preference among the contenders for the party's nomination for President of the United States. Pledged delegates supporting each candidate are chosen in approximate ratio to their candidate's share of the vote. In some states, the delegates so chosen are legally required to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged, at least on the first ballot at the convention. By contrast, the superdelegates, selected by virtue of their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials, without regard to their presidential preferences, are all unpledged delegates. Many of them have chosen to announce endorsements, but they are not bound in any way. They may support any candidate they wish, including one who has dropped out of the presidential race.[10] There are also "unpledged add-on delegates" selected under Rule 9.B and "pledged party leader and elected official delegates" selected under rule 9.C.[1] The process of selecting delegates is described here and here. To sum up, the Democratic Party's delegates fall into seven categories: * District-level delegates * At-large delegates * Unpledged party-leader delegates * Unpledged elected-official delegates * Pledged party-leader delegates * Pledged elected-official delegates * Unpledged add-on delegates Both the Democratic and Republican party have a number of state level unpledged delegates that are chosen by each state's party through convention, caucus, or state party leader vote (depending on how that particular state-party body has decided to choose them).[11] The state level unpledged delegates tend to vote for the candidate who received the most votes from their state (although they are not required to and some state parties give them more leeway than others). Many state Republican party delegations are made up entirely of unpledged delegates which gives them the distinction "winner take all". Even with these traditions, unpledged delegates are allowed to change their vote at any time before the national convention. This is why both the Republican and Democratic parties have the potential for a brokered convention. This is far less likely for the Republican party where the traditions are more strict and there are far fewer unpledged delegates who are given a free hand. The Democratic Party has been criticized [4][12] for conducting its nominating process in a non-democratic, even oligarchic fashion, since superdelegates are generally chosen without regard to their preferences in the presidential race and are not obligated to support the candidate chosen by the voters. There have been repeated calls to eliminate the superdelegates from the nomination process to more accurately reflect the popular vote. Delegates chosen in primaries and caucuses may not exactly reflect the votes cast, although party rules require proportional allocation rather than winner-take-all.[13] * List of 2008 United States Democratic Party superdelegates # ^ a b cd e Democratic National Committee (August 19, 2006). "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention". Retrieved on 2008-02-08. # ^ Nagourney, Adam; Hulse, Carl. "Neck and Neck, Democrats Woo Superdelegates", The New York Times, 2008-02-10. # ^ Dionne, Jr., E. J.. "Democratic Battle Is On For 646 Elite Delegates", The New York Times, 1988-03-23. # ^ a b Berman, Ari. "Not So Superdelegates", The Nation, 2008-02-18. # ^Pazniokas, Mark (February 6, 2008). Lieberman No Longer a Super Delegate. courant.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-07. # ^ ab c "The Primary Season: 2008 Democratic Calendar", The New York Times, 2007-01-07, # ^ a b Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard. CNN. # ^http://www.gop.com/images/2008_Call_FINAL.pdf # ^ Marcus, Ruth. "Looking Beyond Tsunami Tuesday", The Sacramento Bee, 2008-01-17. # ^ "Romney suspends presidential campaign", CNN.com, February 7, 2008, # ^ "Maine Caucus Results", The New York Times. # ^ Bikey, Andrew. "Who are the superdelegates?", Minnesota Monitor, 2008-01-15. # ^ Cook, Rhodes, The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place for Us?, Rowman & Littlefield, * Democratic Convention Watch - lists which superdelegates have and have not endorsed a candidate * List of Democratic superdelegates * "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention" - official Democratic Party rules (note: this is a redirect from the link www.democrats.org/page/-/dem_convention/rules.pdf, on http://www.demconvention.com/how-to-become-a-delegate/) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate"

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"Superdelegate" is an informal term for some of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the quadrennial convention of the United States Democratic Party. Unlike most convention delegates, the superdelegates are not selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state. Instead, the superdelegates are seated automatically, based solely on their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials. They are free to support any candidate for the nomination. The Democratic Party rules do not use the term "superdelegate". The formal designation (in Rule 9.A) is "unpledged party leader and elected official delegates".[1] In addition to these unpledged "PLEO" delegates, the state parties choose other unpledged delegates (Rule 9.B) and pledged PLEO delegates (Rule 9.C).[1] This article discusses only the unpledged PLEO delegates. The Republican Party also seats some party officials as delegates without regard to primary or caucus results, but the term "superdelegate" is most commonly applied only in the Democratic Party. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention the superdelegates will make up approximately one-fifth of the total number of delegates. The unforeseen and unprecedented closeness of the race between the leading contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama following Super Tuesday has focused attention on the potential role of the superdelegates in selecting the Democratic nominee, inasmuch as in the aggregate they could come to be kingmakers to a degree not seen in previous election cycles.[2] Such an outcome would result in the first brokered convention since 1952. [hide]

* 1 History * 2 Superdelegates in 2008 ** 2.1 Pledged and unpledged delegates * 3 Criticism * 4 See also * 5 References * 6 External links After the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party implemented changes in its delegate selection process, based on the work of the McGovern-Fraser Commission. The purpose of the changes was to make the composition of the convention less subject to control by party leaders and more responsive to the votes cast during the campaign for the nomination. These comprehensive changes left some Democrats believing that the role of party leaders and elected officials had been unduly diminished, weakening the Democratic ticket. In response, the superdelegate rule was instituted after the 1980 election. Its purpose was to accord a greater role to active politicians.[3] In the 1984 election, the major contenders for the Presidential nomination were Gary Hart and Walter Mondale. Each of them won some primaries and caucuses. Hart was only slightly behind Mondale in the total number of votes cast, but Mondale won the support of almost all the superdelegates and became the nominee.[4] The superdelegates have not always prevailed, however. In the Democratic primary phase of the 2004 election, Howard Dean acquired an early lead in delegate counts by obtaining the support of a number of superdelegates before even the first primaries were held. Nevertheless, John Kerry defeated Dean in a succession of primaries and caucuses and won the nomination. Superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention include all Democratic members of the United States Congress, Democratic governors, various additional elected officials, members of the Democratic National Committee, as well as "all former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee."[1] There is an exception, however, for otherwise qualified individuals who endorse another party's candidate for President; they lose their superdelegate status. In 2008, Senator Joe Lieberman was disqualified as a superdelegate because he endorsed Republican John McCain.[5] A list of superdelegates can be found here. Another list of endorsing superdelegates is available here The 2008 Democratic National Convention will have approximately 796[6] superdelegates, although the number can change up to the beginning of the convention (Call to the Convention Section IV(C)(2)). Delegates from state caucuses and primaries will number 3,253, resulting in a total number of delegate votes of 4,049. A candidate needs a majority of that total, or 2,025, to win the nomination.[6] Superdelegates account for approximately one fifth (19.6%) of all votes at the convention. Delegates chosen in the Democratic caucuses and primaries account for approximately four-fifths (80.4%) of the Democratic convention delegates.[6][7] Note: All numbers in this section assume that Michigan and Florida delegates are not counted per current Democratic National Committee rules. If those rules are changed before or during the convention, the numbers above will change as appropriate. In the Republican Party, as in the Democratic Party, members of the party's national committee automatically become delegates without being pledged to any candidate. In 2008, there are 123 members of the Republican National Committee among the total of 2,380 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention.[7] There are three RNC delegates (the national committeeman, national committeewoman, and state party chair) for each state, except for the ones who had primary contests before Super Tuesday. [8] Despite this similarity in procedure, the term "superdelegate" is generally used only about Democratic delegates, although there are exceptions.[9] The Democratic Party rules distinguish between pledged and unpledged delegates, with the selection of the former being based on their announced preferences in the contest for the presidential nomination.[1] In the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state, voters express their preference among the contenders for the party's nomination for President of the United States. Pledged delegates supporting each candidate are chosen in approximate ratio to their candidate's share of the vote. In some states, the delegates so chosen are legally required to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged, at least on the first ballot at the convention. By contrast, the superdelegates, selected by virtue of their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials, without regard to their presidential preferences, are all unpledged delegates. Many of them have chosen to announce endorsements, but they are not bound in any way. They may support any candidate they wish, including one who has dropped out of the presidential race.[10] There are also "unpledged add-on delegates" selected under Rule 9.B and "pledged party leader and elected official delegates" selected under rule 9.C.[1] The process of selecting delegates is described here and here. To sum up, the Democratic Party's delegates fall into seven categories: * District-level delegates * At-large delegates * Unpledged party-leader delegates * Unpledged elected-official delegates * Pledged party-leader delegates * Pledged elected-official delegates * Unpledged add-on delegates Both the Democratic and Republican party have a number of state level unpledged delegates that are chosen by each state's party through convention, caucus, or state party leader vote (depending on how that particular state-party body has decided to choose them).[11] The state level unpledged delegates tend to vote for the candidate who received the most votes from their state (although they are not required to and some state parties give them more leeway than others). Many state Republican party delegations are made up entirely of unpledged delegates which gives them the distinction "winner take all". Even with these traditions, unpledged delegates are allowed to change their vote at any time before the national convention. This is why both the Republican and Democratic parties have the potential for a brokered convention. This is far less likely for the Republican party where the traditions are more strict and there are far fewer unpledged delegates who are given a free hand. The Democratic Party has been criticized [4][12] for conducting its nominating process in a non-democratic, even oligarchic fashion, since superdelegates are generally chosen without regard to their preferences in the presidential race and are not obligated to support the candidate chosen by the voters. There have been repeated calls to eliminate the superdelegates from the nomination process to more accurately reflect the popular vote. Delegates chosen in primaries and caucuses may not exactly reflect the votes cast, although party rules require proportional allocation rather than winner-take-all.[13] * List of 2008 United States Democratic Party superdelegates # ^ a b cd e Democratic National Committee (August 19, 2006). "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention". Retrieved on 2008-02-08. # ^ Nagourney, Adam; Hulse, Carl. "Neck and Neck, Democrats Woo Superdelegates", The New York Times, 2008-02-10. # ^ Dionne, Jr., E. J.. "Democratic Battle Is On For 646 Elite Delegates", The New York Times, 1988-03-23. # ^ a b Berman, Ari. "Not So Superdelegates", The Nation, 2008-02-18. # ^Pazniokas, Mark (February 6, 2008). Lieberman No Longer a Super Delegate. courant.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-07. # ^ ab c "The Primary Season: 2008 Democratic Calendar", The New York Times, 2007-01-07, # ^ a b Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard. CNN. # ^http://www.gop.com/images/2008_Call_FINAL.pdf # ^ Marcus, Ruth. "Looking Beyond Tsunami Tuesday", The Sacramento Bee, 2008-01-17. # ^ "Romney suspends presidential campaign", CNN.com, February 7, 2008, # ^ "Maine Caucus Results", The New York Times. # ^ Bikey, Andrew. "Who are the superdelegates?", Minnesota Monitor, 2008-01-15. # ^ Cook, Rhodes, The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place for Us?, Rowman & Littlefield, * Democratic Convention Watch - lists which superdelegates have and have not endorsed a candidate * List of Democratic superdelegates * "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention" - official Democratic Party rules (note: this is a redirect from the link www.democrats.org/page/-/dem_convention/rules.pdf, on http://www.demconvention.com/how-to-become-a-delegate/) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate"

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"Superdelegate" is an informal term for some of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the quadrennial convention of the United States Democratic Party. Unlike most convention delegates, the superdelegates are not selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state. Instead, the superdelegates are seated automatically, based solely on their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials. They are free to support any candidate for the nomination. The Democratic Party rules do not use the term "superdelegate". The formal designation (in Rule 9.A) is "unpledged party leader and elected official delegates".[1] In addition to these unpledged "PLEO" delegates, the state parties choose other unpledged delegates (Rule 9.B) and pledged PLEO delegates (Rule 9.C).[1] This article discusses only the unpledged PLEO delegates. The Republican Party also seats some party officials as delegates without regard to primary or caucus results, but the term "superdelegate" is most commonly applied only in the Democratic Party. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention the superdelegates will make up approximately one-fifth of the total number of delegates. The unforeseen and unprecedented closeness of the race between the leading contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama following Super Tuesday has focused attention on the potential role of the superdelegates in selecting the Democratic nominee, inasmuch as in the aggregate they could come to be kingmakers to a degree not seen in previous election cycles.[2] Such an outcome would result in the first brokered convention since 1952. [hide]

* 1 History * 2 Superdelegates in 2008 ** 2.1 Pledged and unpledged delegates * 3 Criticism * 4 See also * 5 References * 6 External links After the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party implemented changes in its delegate selection process, based on the work of the McGovern-Fraser Commission. The purpose of the changes was to make the composition of the convention less subject to control by party leaders and more responsive to the votes cast during the campaign for the nomination. These comprehensive changes left some Democrats believing that the role of party leaders and elected officials had been unduly diminished, weakening the Democratic ticket. In response, the superdelegate rule was instituted after the 1980 election. Its purpose was to accord a greater role to active politicians.[3] In the 1984 election, the major contenders for the Presidential nomination were Gary Hart and Walter Mondale. Each of them won some primaries and caucuses. Hart was only slightly behind Mondale in the total number of votes cast, but Mondale won the support of almost all the superdelegates and became the nominee.[4] The superdelegates have not always prevailed, however. In the Democratic primary phase of the 2004 election, Howard Dean acquired an early lead in delegate counts by obtaining the support of a number of superdelegates before even the first primaries were held. Nevertheless, John Kerry defeated Dean in a succession of primaries and caucuses and won the nomination. Superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention include all Democratic members of the United States Congress, Democratic governors, various additional elected officials, members of the Democratic National Committee, as well as "all former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee."[1] There is an exception, however, for otherwise qualified individuals who endorse another party's candidate for President; they lose their superdelegate status. In 2008, Senator Joe Lieberman was disqualified as a superdelegate because he endorsed Republican John McCain.[5] A list of superdelegates can be found here. Another list of endorsing superdelegates is available here The 2008 Democratic National Convention will have approximately 796[6] superdelegates, although the number can change up to the beginning of the convention (Call to the Convention Section IV(C)(2)). Delegates from state caucuses and primaries will number 3,253, resulting in a total number of delegate votes of 4,049. A candidate needs a majority of that total, or 2,025, to win the nomination.[6] Superdelegates account for approximately one fifth (19.6%) of all votes at the convention. Delegates chosen in the Democratic caucuses and primaries account for approximately four-fifths (80.4%) of the Democratic convention delegates.[6][7] Note: All numbers in this section assume that Michigan and Florida delegates are not counted per current Democratic National Committee rules. If those rules are changed before or during the convention, the numbers above will change as appropriate. In the Republican Party, as in the Democratic Party, members of the party's national committee automatically become delegates without being pledged to any candidate. In 2008, there are 123 members of the Republican National Committee among the total of 2,380 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention.[7] There are three RNC delegates (the national committeeman, national committeewoman, and state party chair) for each state, except for the ones who had primary contests before Super Tuesday. [8] Despite this similarity in procedure, the term "superdelegate" is generally used only about Democratic delegates, although there are exceptions.[9] The Democratic Party rules distinguish between pledged and unpledged delegates, with the selection of the former being based on their announced preferences in the contest for the presidential nomination.[1] In the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state, voters express their preference among the contenders for the party's nomination for President of the United States. Pledged delegates supporting each candidate are chosen in approximate ratio to their candidate's share of the vote. In some states, the delegates so chosen are legally required to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged, at least on the first ballot at the convention. By contrast, the superdelegates, selected by virtue of their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials, without regard to their presidential preferences, are all unpledged delegates. Many of them have chosen to announce endorsements, but they are not bound in any way. They may support any candidate they wish, including one who has dropped out of the presidential race.[10] There are also "unpledged add-on delegates" selected under Rule 9.B and "pledged party leader and elected official delegates" selected under rule 9.C.[1] The process of selecting delegates is described here and here. To sum up, the Democratic Party's delegates fall into seven categories: * District-level delegates * At-large delegates * Unpledged party-leader delegates * Unpledged elected-official delegates * Pledged party-leader delegates * Pledged elected-official delegates * Unpledged add-on delegates Both the Democratic and Republican party have a number of state level unpledged delegates that are chosen by each state's party through convention, caucus, or state party leader vote (depending on how that particular state-party body has decided to choose them).[11] The state level unpledged delegates tend to vote for the candidate who received the most votes from their state (although they are not required to and some state parties give them more leeway than others). Many state Republican party delegations are made up entirely of unpledged delegates which gives them the distinction "winner take all". Even with these traditions, unpledged delegates are allowed to change their vote at any time before the national convention. This is why both the Republican and Democratic parties have the potential for a brokered convention. This is far less likely for the Republican party where the traditions are more strict and there are far fewer unpledged delegates who are given a free hand. The Democratic Party has been criticized [4][12] for conducting its nominating process in a non-democratic, even oligarchic fashion, since superdelegates are generally chosen without regard to their preferences in the presidential race and are not obligated to support the candidate chosen by the voters. There have been repeated calls to eliminate the superdelegates from the nomination process to more accurately reflect the popular vote. Delegates chosen in primaries and caucuses may not exactly reflect the votes cast, although party rules require proportional allocation rather than winner-take-all.[13] * List of 2008 United States Democratic Party superdelegates # ^ a b cd e Democratic National Committee (August 19, 2006). "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention". Retrieved on 2008-02-08. # ^ Nagourney, Adam; Hulse, Carl. "Neck and Neck, Democrats Woo Superdelegates", The New York Times, 2008-02-10. # ^ Dionne, Jr., E. J.. "Democratic Battle Is On For 646 Elite Delegates", The New York Times, 1988-03-23. # ^ a b Berman, Ari. "Not So Superdelegates", The Nation, 2008-02-18. # ^Pazniokas, Mark (February 6, 2008). Lieberman No Longer a Super Delegate. courant.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-07. # ^ ab c "The Primary Season: 2008 Democratic Calendar", The New York Times, 2007-01-07, # ^ a b Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard. CNN. # ^http://www.gop.com/images/2008_Call_FINAL.pdf # ^ Marcus, Ruth. "Looking Beyond Tsunami Tuesday", The Sacramento Bee, 2008-01-17. # ^ "Romney suspends presidential campaign", CNN.com, February 7, 2008, # ^ "Maine Caucus Results", The New York Times. # ^ Bikey, Andrew. "Who are the superdelegates?", Minnesota Monitor, 2008-01-15. # ^ Cook, Rhodes, The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place for Us?, Rowman & Littlefield, * Democratic Convention Watch - lists which superdelegates have and have not endorsed a candidate * List of Democratic superdelegates * "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention" - official Democratic Party rules (note: this is a redirect from the link www.democrats.org/page/-/dem_convention/rules.pdf, on http://www.demconvention.com/how-to-become-a-delegate/) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate"

Answer 2

A superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and represents party leaders, elected officials, and other influential members of the Democratic Party. They are free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the convention.