US Democrats to hold crunch talks
May 31, 2008
The US Democratic Party is meeting to decide the fate of two states left out of the dramatic race to find its candidate for president.
Both Florida and Michigan were stripped of representation for holding their candidate contests in January, in violation of party rules.
Hillary Clinton hopes the party will reverse its decision in the two states, where she has enjoyed strong support.
She is lagging behind Barack Obama in the closing days of the race.
Whatever the outcome of the committee’s meeting, Barack Obama is still almost certain to cross the finishing-line in first place, says the BBC’s James Coomarasamy.
Compromise likely
The party’s previously obscure Rules and Bylaws Committee could mark Mrs Clinton’s last stand, our correspondent says.
 |
 
Q&A: Michigan and Florida votes
|
She hopes the 30-member committee will overturn its previous decision and allow delegates from Florida and Michigan to vote at the national convention in August.
Her supporters are promising to be out in force at the meeting, offering encouragement.
Officially, she won both states in January but neither she nor Mr Obama campaigned in either - and in Michigan, Mr Obama’s name was not even on the ballot.
She is hoping to close the delegate gap with Mr Obama, allowing her to claim victory in the popular vote and persuade undecided “super-delegates” that she should be the party’s nominee.
Mr Obama currently has a delegate lead of 202 over Mrs Clinton, with 1,984 delegates to her 1,782, according to Associated Press news agency projections.
Should the committee award her every Florida and Michigan delegate she officially won in January’s discounted elections, her net delegate boost would be just 43.
Nonetheless, such a decision would boost Mrs Clinton’s chances of ending the primary election season with a plausible claim to have won a majority of the popular vote.
The rules committee seems more likely to opt for a compromise - perhaps seating half the delegates - that would do little to change the dynamics of the race, our correspondent says.
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.