Superdelegate Decision Making during the 2008 Democratic Primaries
Authors: Galdieri Christopher J. , Parsneau Kevin , Granberg‐Rademacker J. Scott 
Published: October 2015

The race for superdelegate support during the extended competition between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination offers a unique opportunity to examine the behavior of party elites with regard to their party's rank and file. The choice and timing of superdelegates' endorsements were examined, as well as measures of superdelegate loyalty, enthusiasm, considerations of candidate viability, and strategic endorsements. Did superdelegates endorse candidates based on personal or political ties, or to settle old political scores, as much of the press coverage suggested? Did superdelegates try to hijack the nomination for a candidate other than the one preferred by party rank‐and‐file participants in primaries and caucuses? We find that, taken in the aggregate, superdelegate endorsements were based on systematic considerations about candidates' standing as measured by national opinion polling, state support for candidates, and the candidate delegate count. Furthermore, female superdelegates showed more enthusiastic support for Clinton, while elected officials who were superdelegates were more likely to support Obama.Related Articles
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La carrera por el apoyo de los superdelegados durante la extensa competencia entre Hillary Clinton y Barack Obama por la nominación presidencial en 2008 del partido Demócrata ofrece una oportunidad única para examinar el comportamiento de la élite del partido en relación al resto de sus miembros. Se examinó la elección y coordinación de los superdelegados para expresar su apoyo, así como sus niveles de lealtad, entusiasmo, consideraciones de viabilidad del candidato, y ratificaciones estratégicas. ¿Fueron las ratificaciones de los superdelegados basadas en lazos políticos o personales? ¿Trataron los superdelegados de adueñarse de la nominación de un candidato que fuera diferente del preferido debido a su posición en el partido en las elecciones primarias y los cáucuses? Encontramos que en agregado, las ratificaciones de los superdelegados se basaron en consideraciones sistemáticas de la posición de los candidatos, medida por encuestas de opinión nacional, apoyo estatal por el candidato, y la cuenta de delegados del candidato. Además, las mujeres superdelegadas mostraron un apoyo más entusiasta por Clinton, mientras que oficiales elegidos que a su vez eran superdelegados mostraban una mayor probabilidad a apoyar a Obama.