Obama Catches Clinton in Support From Superdelegate Lawmakers

By Nicholas Johnston and Lorraine Woellert

April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama has pulled even with Hillary Clinton in endorsements from top elected officials, with a surge in support from congressional freshmen and governors from Republican-dominated states.

Obama yesterday won the backing of Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal, who became the sixth head of a Republican-leaning state to come out for him in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. In the past week, Obama picked up support from first-term Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Clinton, backed by two governors from Republican states, gained no superdelegates in that time.

Obama, 46, is endorsed by 16 U.S. House freshmen to Clinton's 6, and 40 percent of his congressional allies are from ``red states,'' or those that voted for President George W. Bush in 2004, compared with one-quarter for Clinton. That bolsters the Obama campaign's argument that he would have broader backing in the general election.

``If freshman Democrats in so-called `red states' and Barack Obama were not on the same page, I would think something is wrong,'' said Bernadette Budde, senior vice president of the Business-Industry Political Action Committee, a Washington-based group that works to elect pro-business lawmakers and hasn't endorsed a presidential candidate. ``He is the highest evolution of what the voters were looking for.''

The race for superdelegates -- elected and party officials who automatically receive votes at the national convention -- matters most to Clinton because she trails Obama in the pledged delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses. Among all delegates, Obama leads Clinton 1,634 to 1,500, according to the Associated Press, with 2,024 required to win; professional politicians make up about 20 percent of the total.

Vanishing Lead

Obama, an Illinois senator, has the support of 99 Democratic U.S. lawmakers and governors, compared with Clinton's 96 -- a dramatic turnabout since the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, when Clinton, a New York senator, had more than double Obama's support within this group, 91 to 43.

Clinton leads Obama by four lawmakers and governors if those from Michigan and Florida are counted; the two states held primaries in violation of party rules and were stripped of both superdelegates and delegates picked by voters. The party has been unable to resolve how to count their delegates.

Clinton, 60, who has argued for the importance of experience in a presidential candidate, is supported by some of the most experienced chairmen in the House of Representatives, including John Dingell of Michigan, Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Charles Rangel of New York.

Veteran Chairmen

The seven House chairmen who back Clinton have been in Congress an average of 24 years. Dingell, 81, who was first elected in 1955, is the nation's longest-serving House member. Obama has the support of five committee chairmen.

Among all House members who have endorsed a candidate, Clinton supporters are an average of four years older than Obama backers and have been in Congress three years longer.

Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said superdelegates comprise a broad swath of party officials, not just lawmakers elected to a particular office. ``There is no single metric by which to judge the final outcome,'' Singer said.

Clinton has the support of 250 of the 794 superdelegates; Obama has 220, according to the AP.

Freshmen lawmakers who support Obama said his candidacy shares a lot of the characteristics of their 2006 campaigns, which swept Democrats into congressional majorities.

``Many of us came in as a new breath of fresh air,'' said Representative Tim Walz of Minnesota.

The People's Will

Walz endorsed Obama after his congressional district backed the candidate in the state's Feb. 5 caucuses. ``I went with the will of the people,'' he said.

Carol Shea-Porter, a first-term Democrat from New Hampshire, said she also noticed similarities, such as the enthusiasm Obama engenders in voters.

``So many people want a seat at the table,'' she said.

Obama's tally includes Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, who hasn't officially endorsed either candidate yet has said he voted for Obama in the state's Feb. 19 primary.

Clinton's total includes Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who has said she will cast her vote in favor of the winner of her state's Feb. 5 primary, which was Clinton, while remaining neutral in the race.

The tallies also include the delegate votes that Obama and Clinton could cast for themselves, while excluding Washington, D.C.'s two shadow senators, who aren't federal officials. Washington's congressional delegate, Obama supporter Eleanor Holmes Norton, who can vote in committee and participate in floor debates, is counted.

Remaining Contests

Ten contests remain in the race for the Democratic nomination, including elections in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana.

In addition, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has been trying to settle the disputes over the Florida and Michigan delegations.

Dean met yesterday with Florida officials to discuss ways in which the state's delegates can be included when the party holds its convention in August. They reached no agreement.