Michigan’s superdelegates could swing the Democratic presidential nomination, some experts said. However, the possibility exists they might not have an impact at all. Superdelegates, which account for one-fifth of all delegates, are free to support any candidate they choose. Michigan’s are not currently being seated at the party’s national convention because the state violated Democratic National Committee rules by moving its primary to Jan. 15. Joel Ferguson, chairman of the MSU Board of Trustees, is one of Michigan’s 26 superdelegates and said he expects the state’s superdelegates to be seated because they are a separate body from the delegates involved in the primary election.
“We were already picked,” he said. “That was just a bad decision made by Democratic National Convention contemporaries, and that’s being negotiated right now.”
Ferguson is listed as endorsing Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., on her Web site.
Most of the superdelegate debate has been exaggerated, said Paul Abramson, an MSU political science professor and national elections expert.
“Just about everything everybody said has been off base,” Abramson said. “There is certainly a good chance they are making a big story out of something that won’t be important. If Clinton loses (primaries) in Ohio and Texas, then I think this becomes irrelevant.”
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has 63 more delegates than Clinton, which has caused some to speculate that superdelegates — party representatives appointed to vote for a presidential nominee — could decide the Democratic nominee. Obama tops Clinton with 1,281 delegates to her 1,218, according to the Associated Press.
According to CNN, 235 superdelegates currently support Clinton while 160 support Obama, giving Clinton the national lead when superdelegates are included. About 450 superdelegates have yet to side with a candidate.
Ed Sarpolus, vice president of EPIC-MRA, a Lansing-based polling company, said he also doubts superdelegates would swing the nomination from one candidate to another.
If they did, however, Sarpolus said superdelegates would be serving their responsibility as a corrective entity. Superdelegates, he said, could counteract delegates won by Obama in Republican states, which would maintain the party’s direction.
“Obama won a lot of crossovers and young voters who traditionally don’t vote, and that won him a lot of delegates,” Sarpolus said. “That doesn’t mean they will cross over in the fall election.”
Abramson said although Clinton has the edge among superdelegates, Obama could steal many of their votes if he continues to gain more primary delegates.
Joyce Lalonde, who is a former member of the National Education Association and Michigan Education Association, is serving as a superdelegate for the third time. She said she doesn’t expect superdelegates to change allegiances.
“When you file ‘committed,’ then I think your integrity is that you will cast your vote for who you went to vote for,” she said.
If the declared superdelegates stuck with their candidate and the convention were held today, Clinton would win.
Sarpolus said superdelegates could shift the nomination away from the candidate primary voters chose. And although voters wouldn’t be pleased, he said the Democratic Party could benefit in the general election.
“There would be some major outrage, but sometimes the outrage may be necessary,” Sarpolus said. “The Democrats may want to take the pain of the heat to win in November.”
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