Friday, May 02, 2008
Colorado Add-on Superdelegate: Battle of the Mayors
WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com
Colorado will pick its add-on superdelegate on May 17th. The two remaining candidates are current Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and former Denver Mayor Federico Pena.
Mayor John Hickenlooper and former Mayor Federico Pena will likely face off this month to be named Colorado’s one at-large “superdelegate” to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
The two are the only nominees for the slot, which could have national implications because superdelegates likely will decide the contest between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.
Unlike delegates who are pledged to a candidate based on the outcome of their state’s primary or caucus, superdelegates are free to vote for whomever they think has the best chance of winning in November.
Pena is a national co-chairman for Obama’s presidential bid and Hickenlooper has not committed to either candidate
A third nominee for the at-large slot, Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, bowed out after saying he believed the mayor of the convention host city should be the at-large superdelegate.
Romanoff is a supporter of Clinton. “When I found out the mayor was on the ballot, I asked for my name to be withdrawn,” Romanoff said.
Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak said Pena’s name was submitted by superdelegates committed to Obama and that Romanoff’s name was, in turn, submitted by Clinton backers. It isn’t clear who submitted Hickenlooper’s name, but the mayor said he did not actively seek the position – Rocky Mountain News
Hickenlooper is a rock star in Denver and in any other year would be a shoe-in to be named as the add-on. A lot could change between now and May 17th that could decide who gets the nod.
Posted by Matt at 11:40 AM 
Pena is a former Clinton cabinet member, no?
How many of those have endorsed Obama? I can think of Bill Daley, Richardson, Pena, and Reich.
Ah, an interesting article on this very subject.
Obama also has the support of Norm Mineta, and apparently the tacit support of Mike Espy, who gave Obama the maximum contribution.
Most seem to be openly or tacitly supporting Clinton. The main exceptions are Alexis Herman, who is chair of the credentials committee, Bruce Babbitt, Hazel O’Leary, Janet Reno, and Larry Summers. William Cohen also apparently hasn’t endorsed, although I’d be pretty surprised if he didn’t endorse McCain (he was McCain’s best man!)