Republican big hits superdelegates
EVEN REPUBLICANS are taking issue with the screwy system the Democratic Party uses to choose a presidential nominee.
“Simply put ... (Hillary) Clinton is still her party’s frontrunner because of the Democrat establishment and the arcane, unfair and undemocratic process known as ‘superdelegates,’ ” Matt Rhoades, who managed 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney's unsuccessful presidential campaign, wrote Wednesday in a post on Medium.
He was referring to the unelected delegates in the Democratic nomination process who are free to support any candidate at the party’s convention regardless of primary outcomes.
“If Secretary Clinton becomes her party’s nominee, she will owe it largely to the unfair process of superdelegates. Because if grass-roots voters across the country had their way, there’s a good chance the Democratic Party would be feeling the Bern at their convention in Philadelphia,” Rhoades added, pointing to surging challenger Bernie Sanders.
In fact, as pointed out by the Daily News, if Sanders had the superdelegates that Clinton currently has, he’d be winning the race for the Democratic nomination handily, with 1,449 total delegates to Clinton’s 1,274.
Currently, Clinton has 1,712 total delegates, compared with 1,011 for Sanders.
Excluding superdelegates, however, Clinton’s lead is only 1,243 to 980 — a difference that continues to narrow after a recent spate of primaries, prompting the Sanders campaign to say it will try to convince many superdelegates to jump ship and support him.
In spite of Sanders winning 15 states — including some by an 80%-20% margin — over 94% of the 498 declared superdelegates have said they are backing the former New York senator.
Clinton has 469 superdelegate votes, compared with just 31 for the Vermont senator.
To secure the Democratic nomination, one must get a majority — 2,383 delegates — at the party’s national convention in Philadelphia in July.
In addition to the many elected officials — such as governors, senators and House members — who make up the