Most Nevada superdelegates to remain uncommitted

Las Vegas- Nevada Democrats may have taken their first step toward allotting their twenty-five pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention, but these are not the only Nevadans with a vote in Denver come August.  Nevada is also home to seven so-called “superdelegates,” party leaders who are free to vote for any candidate they choose at the convention.  Three of these superdelegates have endorsed either N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton or Ill. Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, but the other four have pledged neutrality in the race, pledges that at this relatively late stage in the primaries are unlikely to be broken.

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Nev. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus (D-Clark 7) have endorsed Clinton and state Sen. Steven Horsford (D-Clark 4) has endorsed Obama.  The other four—Nevada Democratic Chairwoman Jill Derby, 1st Vice-Chairman Sam Lieberman, former Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Gates and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid—have declared neutrality until the party has chosen a nominee.

Click here to watch Berkley and Horsford discuss their candidates-of-choice after the Jan. 15 Las Vegas debate.

What are superdelegates?

Superdelegates were created as part of the Democratic Party’s reform of their nomination process during the last half of the 20th century.  After the election of 1968, the McGovern-Fraser Commission of the DNC required delegates to the national convention to be chosen openly by party members as opposed to secretly by party leaders.  To comply with the commission’s reforms, most states switched from nominating caucuses to primaries to select their delegates.

These changes left an impression among many party leaders that their own authority to select their nominees had been too greatly diminished.  Thus, after the 1980 election, Democratic members of congress, current and former Democratic presidents, Democratic governors and members of the DNC were each given a vote in all following national conventions.

Berkley and Reid are superdelegates therefore as Democratic members of congress, Titus and Horsford as DNC committeewoman and committeeman, Derby and Lieberman as chair and vice-chair of the state party and Gates as an at-large member of the DNC appointed by the party chair.

Are those four really not going to pick a candidate?

“My pledge to be neutral was and is as long as there is a contested primary,” said Derby today.  “And there is one.  As long as there are two candidates in this race competing for the nomination, that’s my pledge.”

Derby’s pledge was echoed by Lieberman and Gates.

“I have to abide by [the state party’s] bylaws which say I will not endorse until there is a candidate,” said Lieberman.  “In other words, I am mandated to support (by raising money and raising the volunteer base) whoever the candidate is, so I cannot endorse.”

“I have not committed to a campaign,” said Gates, “and I am going to stay in that mode until I see who wins the nomination by the people.”

Reid likewise has stated numerous times that he will remain neutral, even caucusing “uncommitted” in the Jan. 19 precinct caucus in his hometown of Searchlight.

That hasn’t stopped the campaigns from trying…

Gates said today that she has “spoken with and received e-mails and calls from both sides,” but that she has “vowed” to remain uncommitted.

Despite the state party’s bylaws, Lieberman also said today that he had been approached by the two remaining campaigns seeking his support.

But what if there’s a “brokered convention?”

“Well then I would certainly decide,” said Derby.  “There are a lot of things that would factor in, but I can’t give a prediction about that.

“But I don’t think it’s going to come to that, and I hope it doesn’t.”

Lieberman agrees.

“I believe that there will be a candidate before the convention,” said Lieberman.  “Whoever the nominee is, I think the winner will be the Democratic Party in general and the Americans who vote to put a Democrat in the White House.”