Feinstein Won't Rule Out Supporting Popular Vote Loser
Josiah Ryan
Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a super delegate for the Democratic Party, told Cybercast News Service on Tuesday she would not rule out casting her vote for a nominee who does not win the popular vote, and that could bode well for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in her presidential nominee race against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
"I wouldn't necessarily rule it out, because you have two big states that aren't being counted," Feinstein told Cybercast News Service in reference to Michigan and Florida, where Democratic primaries were not held. "It's premature to say what I would or wouldn't do, but I don't rule out anything. Every super delegate can use his or her own judgment, because they are not pledged to their state."
There is an ongoing struggle in the Democratic Party, because Obama has won more primaries than Clinton and is ahead in the popular vote: 13.3 million (49.5 percent) vs. Clinton's 12.6 million (46.9 percent), as reported by Real Clear Politics. And many Democrats reportedly have urged Clinton to end her race.
Among the 795 super delegates who may decide whether Obama or Clinton get the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party, 216 are members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 48 are U.S. senators.
To date, Obama has an estimated 234 super delegates, according to Real Clear Politics, while Clinton has 258 - but those numbers are not definitive and could change dramatically between now and the August Democratic National Convention.
To win the election, the Democratic candidate must secure 2,024 total delegates, which includes super delegates and "pledged" delegates. So far, it is estimated that Obama has 1,416 pledged delegates and Clinton has 1,250. In total, super and pledged delegates combined, Obama is apparently ahead with 1,650 delegates vs. Clinton's 1,508.
Beyond Feinstein's comments, several other Democratic senators who are super delegates told Cybercast News Service that they would not say whether they would vote for a nominee who had not won the popular vote. But other senators were non-committal on how they might cast their vote if their preferred candidate is not backed by the majority of Democratic voters.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) told Cybercast News Service he doesn't think he needs to decide how he is going to vote yet. "I don't know that there is really a need for me to decide how I am going to vote or not," he said. "My hope is that some time by June we can wrap this up."
Carper added that he is hoping Obama and Clinton will smooth out their differences and agree to share the ticket.
"The role I have tried to play is to try to encourage both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama, at the end of the day, to have the kind of relationship that would enable the one who ends up with the most delegates to be comfortable enough to ask the person that comes in second to run with him, or her, as a running mate," he said. "But I haven't gone beyond that."
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) told Cybercast News Service that she is going to see what happens in the upcoming primaries before making a decision. "I'll see what happens tonight and in the rest of the elections," she said. "I am not going to make any statements until I see what the rest of the results are."
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said she would not speculate on how she might vote, but when Cybercast News Service asked her if she would rule out the possibility of voting for the candidate without the popular vote, she explained that the nomination process is more than just a popularity contest.
"We have a popular vote and a delegate vote," she said. "We have to look at all of it, but at this point I don't think speculating really does any good."
Feinstein explained that she wouldn't commit to voting for the candidate with the technical lead in votes because voters from Michigan and Florida will likely lack delegate representation at the Democratic National Convention. Both states were penalized by the Democratic Party because of their decisions to move up their primary dates.
"I think it is really not right to discount what is the most critical Southern state and what is a critical industrial state and say you don't have a right to vote," she told Cybercast News Service. "The politicians exercised wrongly their will."
Every Democratic member of the House and Senate, each Democratic governor and members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are guaranteed spots as super delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Also included are former Democratic presidents and vice presidents, former Democratic House and Senate leaders, and ex-DNC chairs.
Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.
E-mail a comment or news tip to Josiah Ryan