Dem Office Holders Gravitate Toward Obama

Cuts into Clinton's lead among governors, members of Congress
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 14, 2008 2:30 PM CDT
Dem Office Holders Gravitate Toward Obama
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., points to a questioner during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, March 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama is cutting into Hillary Clinton's lead among the most prestigious superdelegates, the Democratic Party's members of Congress and governors. Among those 313 superdelegates, Clinton has the support of 103 and Obama of 96, reports Bloomberg. Clinton maintains an overall lead of 259-212 among superdelegates, but that too is narrowing: since her victories in Texas and Ohio, she has only picked up one superdelegate while Obama has netted 9.

Underlying Obama's growing support among party officials is his electability. "All along he has been the one person McCain does not want to run against and that is still true," said Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia senator. Polls from Iowa and Kansas show that John McCain would beat Clinton but would lose to Obama—one reason that both those states' governors have thrown their support to the Illinois senator. (More superdelegates stories.)

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