Utah superdelegate backs Obama
Holland's selection ties Demo hopefuls; Matheson up in air
"Sen. Obama has helped to energize our state party," Wayne Holland, chairman of the Utah Democratic Party, said. "The enthusiasm the Obama campaign has brought will benefit all our candidates."
Holland's decision means two of the state's five so-called superdelegates are committed to Obama and two are committed to Hillary Clinton. Utah's only Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Jim Matheson, continues to remain undecided.
A sixth at-large superdelegate will be named at the state Democratic Party convention in May. Since the final superdelegate — who must be a female under party rules — will be chosen by Holland, she is expected to be committed to Obama.
Superdelegates around the county are being courted by Obama and Clinton, who are locked in a hotly contested race for their party's nomination that may not be decided until the national convention in August.
The party's final choice could come down to the superdelegates, who are typically party officials and officeholders and are able to cast their ballot at the convention without regard to state election results.
That means that 14 of Utah's 23 pledged delegates to the national convention are bound to vote for Obama and nine for Clinton. Those delegates will be chosen at the party's state convention in May.
Holland said nearly three-quarters of the 125 Utah Democrats who filed for a delegate slot by Wednesday's deadline are running as Obama delegates. And a party survey of Democrats running for state and local offices found that 75 percent wanted Obama at the top of the ticket.
"A lot of that has to do with the Obama campaign's attention to Utah," Holland said.
Obama visited Utah last August and held an impromptu rally just outside Park City that attracted hundreds of Utahns. He was scheduled to come back to the state earlier this year but canceled after LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley's funeral was set for the same day.
Obama's wife, Michelle, did come to the state shortly before the presidential primary and spoke to hundreds of supporters before meeting with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Holland said many of the volunteers Obama has attracted in Utah are now volunteering for other Democratic candidates, as well as the party. Clinton has not made a trip to Utah, although her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea, have visited.
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Anonymous | April 27, 2008 at 11:39 a.m.
What exactly is Obama going to do that will be good for our country...
What? | April 11, 2008 at 10:35 p.m.
Things need to change. John McCain will never lead us in the direction...
Amy | April 11, 2008 at 6:43 p.m.
