Where We Stand

Clinton, Obama, Edwards have 'super delegate' backing in state

By RON JENKINS, Associated Press Writer 1/21/2008 4:20 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY --

Oklahoma Democrats will not vote on their choices for president until the Feb. 5 primary, but three candidates already have nailed down delegate support.


Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards each have commitments from one of the state’s eight so-called super delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Super delegates get their status because of their party or elective positions. They include Gov. Brad Henry and U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, the state’s lone Democratic member of Congress.
Boren leads a group of four Oklahoma super delegates who say they will enter the convention uncommitted. Henry prefers to be designated as undecided, but has made no public statements on any preferences.


Betty McElderry, DNC national committeewoman, is committed to support Clinton; DNC national committeeman Jim Frasier is committed to Edwards and Kitti Asberry, vice chairman of the state party, is committed to Obama. Besides Boren, delegates who say they will remain uncommitted are Ivan Holmes, state party chairman; Jay Parmley, former state chairman, and Kalyn Free, a DNC at-large appointee. The state party will have 47 delegates to the Denver convention. Twenty-five of those will be determined by voting in the state’s five congressional districts and the rest, excluding the super delegates, by the statewide vote.


Candidates will pick up delegates on a proportional basis, based on their vote in the congressional districts and statewide. They must meet a 15 percent threshold to qualify for delegates.
On the Republican side, candidates will be vying for 41 delegates on Feb. 5. It will be a winner-take-all election statewide for 26 delegates. Fifteen more will be awarded at the congressional level ' three to the winner in each district.


Clinton has led in pre-election polls of Democrats in the state, but Ivan Holmes, state Democratic chairman, has said Edwards will be strong in the state by virtue of his frequent visits and his second place showing four years ago. Edwards finished behind Wesley Clark in the 2004 election and was in Oklahoma City twice last week. Oklahoma was the only state won by Clark before he dropped out of the 2004 race.


Gary Jones, state Republican chairman, said Huckabee has been the leader in polling heading up to the election, but McCain is moving up after his victory in New Hampshire. “I think that Sen. Tom Coburn coming on board for McCain is going to give him a bump,” Jones said. He said Thompson could be a factor, depending on the outcome of races in South Carolina and Florida.
The selection of individuals who will attend the national conventions of the two parties will be determined at state conventions.


Under national party rules, the number of men and women delegates to the Democratic nominating convention will be divided equally. The three super delegates who have already made their choices known for the nomination had different reasons for their decisions.


McElderry said she has long admired Clinton for strength as a person and public official.
“I like what she stands for,” McElderry said. “I really admired how she stood up to pressure after losing in Iowa. It was very gratifying to see the pollsters were wrong. “She is a very determined, decisive woman. She was a trail blazer in identifying there was something drastically wrong with our health care system. She was ahead of her time.”


Asberry said Obama “has the ability to mobilize a group of people who have been disenfranchised from the political process of the United States. I think he is bridging the gap of public opinion on racism. “I also feel he has the capability for changing our economy around by engaging in serious negotiations with other countries. I think he offers prosperity for young Americans between 18 through 40, who feel their voices have been ignored by government.”


Frasier, a Tulsa attorney and former state party chairman, said he has known Edwards for a long time. “He is a person with a great deal of character and I agree with in on most issues. He states it pretty clear: Washington is out of control and in the hands of lobbyists, specifically the drug companies, the insurance companies and the multinationals. “John will offer a choice for the ordinary American. He also stands for campaign finance reform, which I think is the No. 1 thing that we need to address to save our democracy.”