Obama takes lead in superdelegates, AP reports

'DNC was her turf'
Clinton started the year with a 106-delegate lead among superdelegates, a margin that started to shrink after Obama won the Iowa caucuses in early January.

Jenny Backus, a Democratic consultant who is not aligned with either candidate, said the Democratic National Committee was filled with superdelegates who had long supported Clinton and her husband, the former president. That gave Clinton a built-in advantage.

"The DNC was her turf, and she was the candidate of the insiders," Backus said.

Clinton's margin slipped to 87 the week of Super Tuesday, just as Obama was about to embark on a stretch of 11 straight victories in primaries and caucuses.

Obama was rewarded for his success at the polls.

From Super Tuesday on Feb. 5 to the March 4 primaries in Ohio and Texas, Obama picked up 51 superdelegates while Clinton had a net loss of one.

"Normally the party activists march lockstep with the establishment candidate," Backus said. "They didn't do that this time."

Countering Clinton's gains
Even during Obama's toughest stretch of the campaign, when his former pastor's incendiary comments dominated the headlines, Obama kept churning out superdelegate endorsements. And when Clinton posted a big win in the Pennsylvania primary, Obama collected still more.

Clinton picked up the pace of her endorsements after Pennsylvania, adding 11.5 superdelegates in the following two weeks, including the half delegate from the Democrats Abroad. Obama countered by adding 22.

A little more than 200 superdelegates remain undecided, and about 40 others will be named by state parties at state conventions and meetings throughout the spring.

ABC News and The New York Times reported separately that Obama had passed Clinton in superdelegates endorsements on Friday. Both of their counts, however, had fewer Clinton superdelegates than the AP count. The AP verifies all superdelegate endorsements included in its count.

Obama has a 163-delegate lead among the pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses. That means Clinton would have to generate an identical lead among superdelegates to catch him.

There are 217 pledged delegates at stake in the remaining six primaries. Obama is on track to secure a majority of the pledged delegates on May 20, when Kentucky and Oregon vote.

Independent of pledged delegates?
Obama argues that the superdelegates should support the candidate who wins the most pledged delegates. Clinton says superdelegates should exercise independent judgment.

In the overall race for the nomination, Obama has 1,864.5 delegates and Clinton has 1,697, according to the latest AP tally. Obama is just 160.5 delegates shy of the 2,025 needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

Ohio labor leader Dave Regan, who was selected as a superdelegate Saturday, told the AP that Obama is "the candidate that can unite the country and move beyond the divisiveness and gridlock that we have today."

Regan recognized that Clinton won the Ohio primary March 4.

"But that was two months ago. I think as the campaign has unfolded, Obama is looking like a stronger and stronger candidate," Regan said. "I think it's very likely he will be the nominee."

Besides Regan and Rodriquez, Obama added endorsements from Carole Burke of the Virgin Islands, Kristi Cumming of Utah and Rep. Harry Mitchell of Arizona. Clinton added Arthur Powell, a superdelegate from Massachusetts.

Picking the president: The candidates Click to visit that candidate's MSNBC page or click the XML symbol for an RSS feed. John McCain                Barack Obama

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