Barack Obama has overtaken Hillary Clinton in the NBC NEWS superdelegate count with the endorsement of Hawaii's Dolly Strazar. This is his second of the day and puts him now officially over the top, 277-276.5.
From: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...
Somebody asked for a concise list of the supers, so here we go:
- Rep. Tom Allen (ME)
- DNC Dolly Strazar (HI)
- DNC R. Keith Roark (ID)
- Sen. Akaka (HI)
The last one is not "official", but Obama won 80% of the vote in Idaho. Does anybody doubt he's going to come out for Obama?
So we now have Barack Obama leading in I think almost if not all of the superdelegate counts that the news organizations are reporting.
Update 1
Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Keith Roark, currently uncommitted, will endorse a presidential candidate at a press conference in Boise at about 2 p.m. ET, the state party confirms. The party was mum on who he’d endorse, but at least one Idaho blog’s speculation is he’d be for Obama. Obama won the state’s caucus overwhelmingly, 80%-17%. Obama netted 12 delegates in the state, which the Obama campaign famously touted as a larger gain than Clinton got out of New Jersey. Clinton netted 11 out of the Garden State.
Update 2
It's being reported that Sen. Akaka of Hawaii is endorsing Obama today. I can't find anywhere yet, but I'll add it once I can find one.
Update 3: Senator Akaka's endorsement from The Field: http://ruralvotes.com/...
"For more than a year, people have asked me who I plan to endorse for President of the United States. I’ve waited this long for several reasons. The Democratic campaign began with more than ten declared candidates. As a veteran of more than 30 years on Capitol Hill, I knew each and everyone of them and had worked closely with all...
What makes him uniquely qualified? A March 2008 feature in Vanity Fair magazine offers a clue: "He was born and came of age in Hawaii, the 50th state and in many ways among the freest‑thinking, where mixed‑race ancestry is ...a given... If Obama comes across as a bit of a softy—if you don’t see the toughness or the ambition at first—it may be in part because he spent his formative years in a place where ‘Live Aloha’ had not yet become a slogan aimed at recapturing a more gracious time, but was simply a way of life."
I have great hope, that in his own way, Barack Obama will achieve what I have been working to accomplish my entire Congressional career, more tolerance and understanding, an appreciation for common goals and interests, rather than an emphasis on our differences.
While I am pledging my support to Senator Obama, I want to make it very clear that I hold both Senator Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton in the highest regard as colleagues and friends. Senator Clinton has campaigned hard and well and I wish her all the best as we move forward. In an example of her leadership and commitment, Senator Clinton has promised that come November, the Democratic Party will be united behind our presidential nominee and I send her my fondest aloha for her courage and selflessness."