For the 90 members of Congress who are also undecided Democratic superdelegates, concerns about their own prospects in thefall are driving many to continue to delay their decisions whether to endorse Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
Following Clinton’s win in the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday, one swing-district member said, “most of the uncommitted members are saying” they will wait until the last primary ends on June 3 to make up their minds.
Among the 71 uncommitted members who will not decide until after the primaries is Rep. Jason Altmire, a Pennsylvania Democrat whose district voted overwhelmingly for Clinton in Tuesday’s primary.
Altmire said even though he knows Clinton cannot win the pledged delegate race, he is holding out to see if she can win the popular vote.
If she does not, Altmire said, “I can’t think of a scenario under which I would overturn the will of the people.” He concedes his decision not to endorse Clinton now, “might have some Democrats mad at me, but I might have some independents who like that decision.”
Of the 14 House lawmakers deemed by the Cook Political Report to have competitive races this November, 10 have yet to pick either Obama or Clinton, despite pleas to make up their minds from the likes of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen. Cook characterizes the only vulnerable Democratic Senate seat as that of Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, and she is also uncommitted.
Most estimates show there are 235 uncommitted superdelegates. Aside from House members and senators, an additional 131 are party officials and seven are governors.
House Democratic leaders are keenly aware of the difficult situation faced by uncommitted House members in vulnerable seats. Most are freshmen, adding further uncertainty to their re-election prospects.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said on Wednesday that House superdelegates “will have to go back in November and answer for the decision they make in August. That is the irony. The rest, you know, they are going to do what they are going to do, and they are not going to be on the ballot.”
A House Democratic leadership aide said there is less pressure on members from vulnerable seats to endorse a candidate. “It could adversely affect their campaigns,” the aide said. “There are more negatives than positives.”
Roger Davidson, emeritus professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, said picking either candidate could hurt uncommitted House members from vulnerable districts.
“The problem is Obama and Clinton are playing to somewhat different constituencies,” he said. “Clinton is somewhat more moderate, but he on the other hand appeals to independents. I think there is potential peril either way.”
