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Posted: June 3, 2008 6:21 PM
Super Delegates Veer toward Obama in Primary Season's Final Hours
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A steady stream of uncommitted super delegates declared their endorsements for presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday as South Dakota and Montana cast the final ballots in the Democrats’ epic nominating race.

Obama’s supporters included a spattering of the recently reinstated super delegates from Michigan and Florida, as well as party leaders from California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Mississippi and New York.

The Obama camp was also alerted of a coming nod from former President Jimmy Carter, who told the Associated Press they “already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight.”

Many of the super delegates who made their choice Tuesday had waited until all of the country’s Democratic primary states were given the chance to vote, and cited the importance of unifying a party divided by the drawn-out nominating process.

“It’s the end of the primary season,” said Jennifer DeChant, a Democratic National Committee member for Maine, according to the AP. “Now it’s important to unite behind one candidate.”

Other sought-after super delegates, such as Montana Sen. Max Baucus, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, are reportedly waiting until results from the final two primaries are declared before they announce their choices.

“I expect to endorse tonight,” Baucus said, according to CBS News. “That is, assuming we have a result.”

Although various polls have painted conflicting pictures about who is ahead in each of Tuesday’s contests, an American Research Group from Monday showed Obama holding a 48 to 44 percent lead over his Democratic opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton in Montana, with the New York senator holding a larger lead in South Dakota, carrying 60 percent to Obama’s 34 percent.

Despite a likely win in South Dakota, Clinton picked up only one more super delegate, Florida’s Jon Ausman, as of Tuesday afternoon, and she even lost a few who switched their endorsements from her column to Obama’s.

Longtime Clinton supporter California Rep. Maxine Waters switched her vote, saying the New York senator has run a “superb campaign that will be essential for Democratic success in November,” in a statement, according to CNN. “Despite that, Senator Obama’s delegate numbers more than describe the enthusiasm for his candidacy and I believe that by the end of the day, he will have the necessary numbers to become the Democratic Party nominee for president.”

According to an AP tally as of late Tuesday afternoon, Obama stood 25 delegates away from clinching the party’s majority — with 16 delegates at stake in Montana and 15 in South Dakota.