Democratic National Convention

Mary BoergersSays Clinton’s Name Must Be Put In Nomination At Convention

Former house delegate and state Sen. Mary Boergers (D), a pledged delegate to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), told PolitickerMD.com today that she has not committed to voting for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the November election, saying she first wants to see what "action's (Obama) takes to unify the party."

Boergers, who represented the people of Montgomery County in the House of Delegates from 1982 to 1990 and in the Senate from 1991 to 1994, also said she would vote for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in August.

"I'm a pledged Hillary delegate," Boergers said. "That's what I was elected to do."

Obama and Mikulski: In 2006Will Campaign For Him This Summer

U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Baltimore) officially endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) this afternoon, pledging to cast her vote for him at this summer's Democratic National Convention following the concession speech of her first choice, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

An ardent supporter whose early endorsement came over 13 months ago, Mikulski served as a national co-chair of the Clinton campaign.

"The respect and admiration I had for Hillary before this process has only increased," she said in a statement. "Today, I am equally proud to join Hillary in my enthusiastic endorsement of Barack Obama for President."

On Wedneday, Mikulski told PolitickerMD.com that she expects Democratic Party unity "within the next few weeks." Today she pledged to "lend my voice and energy to his campaign" long before she officially votes for him at the August convention.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland's Michael Steed played a prominent role in a nationally televised drama that featured high stakes political maneuvering that could help decide the next President of the United States.

Steed, of New Market, is a member of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee. Today four cable networks followed a day-long proceeding that decided whether or not to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan after those two states held primaries in violation of party rules.

As a member of the Democratic National Committee, Westminster Councilman Gregory Pecoraro is a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention in August. He is one of the state's nine uncommitted superdelegates, which means he's been busy fielding phone calls and meeting with the candidates and their surrogates.

Despite all the pressure to support either Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Pecoraro told PolitickerMD.com that he is taking the process in a "day by day" manner.

"There's not a lot of more information to gather," Pecoraro said, predicting, "You are seeing superdelegates starting to move to make decisions, and I think you will see more of that."

Johnson stumps for Clinton in February: Politicker PhotoPrince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson's decision to leave Hillary Clinton for Barack Obama rasies the question of how pledged is a pledged delegate?

Johnson told The Washington Post today he could not “in good conscience” go to the Democratic National Convention and continue to support Clinton.

Johnson is one of 28 so-called pledged delegates committed to Clinton within the state. In the Maryland primary last February, Obama defeated Clinton by a margin of 61 to 36 percent.

So, could Johnson legally support Obama at the convention if so desires? If so, could he do it on the first ballot? According to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the answer is yes.

Former Gov. Parris GlendeningFormer Gov. Parris Glendening, who was selected Saturday by the state Democratic Central Committee as an unpledged ad-on delegate to the Democratic National Convention, discussed his decision to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during an interview today with PolitickerMD.com.

“I believe Sen. Obama is the strongest candidate in November and will be a great president,” Glendening said.

Glendening, who initially supported New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, said he has been “very excited and enthusiastic” about the Obama campaign for some time, but decided to “wait until the (delegation) appointment process was over” before endorsing.

Like we previously reported, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown is in Pennsylvania today, though unlike what we said, he is not there campaigning for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Instead he’s spending his day filling his duties as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.

But he will definitely get his campaigning fill this weekend, as all across Iowa tomorrow, 13,485 delegates elected on Jan. 3 will meet in 99 county conventions to elect 2,500 delegates to the June 14 Democratic Party district and state conventions. There, the rest of the Iowa delegation to this summer’s Democratic National Committee Convention will be selected.

With second place finisher John Edwards out of the way, Clinton is dispatching surrogates like Brown to the state to woo the former North Carolina Senator’s 4,046 delegates.

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Baltimore) is one of several uncommitted Democratic superdelegates in Maryland. Today, his communications director, Sue Walitsky, said the senator had no plans to publicly endorse either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton anytime soon. While he may not vocally declare his support, we asked Walitsky what Cardin thought the role of the superdelegates should be in the Democratic nominating contest.

“He really sees the superdelegates as being in position to unite the party behind the nominee,” Walitsky said.

When asked if Cardin believed the superdelegates should vote for the individual who is ahead in pledged delegates, Walitsky would not directly comment, saying, “The primary process still has to play itself out.”

Obama leads Clinton by roughly 150 pledged delegates at the current time. Democrats still have more than ten contests remaining, including this evening’s Mississippi primary, where Obama is expected to carry the majority of the 33 delegates. It is virtually mathematically impossible for Clinton to overtake Obama in the pledged delegate lead, meaning her path to the nomination would come from the superdelegates.

The Maryland Democratic Party has set Saturday, May 3 as the tentative date it will name the remainder of its delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August.

At the meeting, the State Central Committee will select another 2 unpledged add-on superdelegates, nominated by Chairman Michael Cryor.

The approximately 352-member committee will also name another 9 delegates from party leaders and elected officials, plus another 15 at-large delegates. These 24 delegates are tied to the popular vote, with Barack Obama nominating 15 and 9 delegates nominated by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Each candidate is allowed a right of review to the delegates ultimately chosen. Michael Novelli is Obama’s authorized state representative, while Kate Geyer is Clinton’s.

Despite Barack Obama’s decisive electoral victory in Maryland three weeks ago, Hillary Clinton still has a chance of capturing the state’s delegation to this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Yesterday, the state Democratic Party released the names of some of its 111-member delegation – 99 voting delegates and 12 alternates – which will lodge at the Denver Renaissance Hotel in the final week of August.

Of those directly elected, Obama came out with 27 delegates and 6 alternates while Clinton won 19 delegates and 2 alternates.

Later this spring, the state party convention will assign another 15 delegates to Obama and 9 more delegates for Clinton, based off the popular vote. These delegates will be nominated by the campaigns and subsequently elected by the party.

This means Obama holds a lead in elected delegates who will actually cast a vote at the convention, 42 to Clinton’s 28.

The popular vote on Feb. 12 was roughly 60% to 37% for Obama. The elected delegate split is 60% to 40% for Obama.

Yet, Obama lags behind Clinton in support from the state’s 27 superdelegates – elected representatives and at-large members to the DNC. Clinton is supported by 10 superdelegates, while only 5 back Obama. 12 remain undecided while another two superdelegates, yet to be named, will be chosen by the central committee later this spring.