Mikulski will vote for Obama on first ballot at DNC Convention

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, upper left at the June 7 concession speech, was with Hillary Clinton to the very end.: FlickrDespite Hillary Clinton's name being placed into nomination at next week's Democratic National Committee Convention, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Baltimore) will vote for Barack Obama on the first nominating ballot.

Obama and Clinton, who fought a drawn-out battle for their party's nomination, announced last Thursday, Aug. 14, that her name would also be part of the roll call in Denver.

In the statement, Obama said he was “convinced that honoring Senator Clinton’s historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion.”

The decision immediately raised the question of how many votes Clinton would receive during the first roll call, and which prominent supporters would make the symbolic gesture.

A fierce advocate for the New York Senator and national co-chair of her presidential campaign, Mikulski announced on June 7 -- the day Clinton officially ended her bid -- that she planned to vote for Obama at the convention. A spokesperson reconfirmed that with PolitickerMD.com last week.

The New York Times reports that "associates" of Sen. Clinton say that she herself will cast her ballot for Sen. Obama. U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) another supporter of the former First Lady, estimated to Politico that "as many as half of the Democrats in the House" would vote for Clinton.