Young superdelegates stay cool toward Obama

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Young superdelegates stay cool toward Obama

By: Ben Adler

Feb 16, 2008 06:18 PM EST

Obama considerably less popular among 19 Democratic superdelegates who are under the age of 36. Photo: AP AVE Digg del.icio.us Technorati reddit SHARE COMMENT PRINT EMAIL RECOMMEND

Few demographic groups are more enamored of Sen. Barack Obama than the young. Yet among the youthful voters who might end up mattering most to his campaign — the 19 Democratic superdelegates who are under the age of 36 — Obama appears to be considerably less popular.

According to a Politico analysis, just six of the 19 youngest superdelegates favor Obama. Sen. Hillary Clinton has support from four of these superdelegates, with 9 others remaining uncommitted.

Figures compiled by Politico show that, in the overall superdelegate count at the moment, Clinton leads Obama with 242 superdelegates to his 160.5. There are 318.5 uncommitted superdelegates. (Some superdelegates only receive a half-vote.)

Obama’s softness among the youngest of superdelegates is unusual given his popularity with young voters in general — he has captured the under-30 youth vote in all but three states so far. In a closely-divided nominating contest that might be decided by the more than 700 Democratic superdelegates, the loss of even a few could prove costly, not to mention ironic if those superdelegates came from one of Obama’s demographic strongholds.

Young superdelegates haven’t exactly rejected Obama. Rather, many of them are proving to be politically savvy when it comes to leveraging their influence.

A number of these superdelegates said in interviews that they believe they can better affect the way campaigns approach young voters if they stay above the fray and refrain from endorsing either candidate. The two top officers of the College Democrats of America, for instance, are both superdelegates and neither are taking sides.

“My priority is working with both campaigns on youth outreach,” explained Awais Khaleel, 23, the CDA vice president. “Long before anybody was talking about superdelegates I had been in touch with senior staff members of the campaigns to make sure they keep young people as part of their campaign infrastructure.”

That position was echoed by another member of a key Democratic youth group.

“I saw my role, being one of two women under 30 on the [Democratic National Committee], to advocate for young voters,” said undeclared superdelegate Crystal Strait, 28, national committeewoman for the Young Democrats of America. “It’s crucial to understand what they think real investment in general election in the youth vote will be. Neither has come forward with that.”

Likewise, the youngest superdelegate of all, 21-year-old University of Wisconsin junior Jason Rae, is remaining neutral for now. Despite his tender age, Rae is something of a veteran: He was elected as a Wisconsin DNC delegate in 2004 at the age of 17, though he was too young to actually vote that year.

Having run on a platform of increasing youth representation in party leadership, Rae emphasizes youth outreach in deciding between the candidates. He says his top priority in picking a candidate is “to make sure the campaign is making an effort to reach out to young people and include youth in political process.”

Both Rae and Young Democrats’ President David Hardt, 31, who lives in Texas, say they are so torn that they may continue to withhold their formal support even after they have cast a ballot in their states’ respective upcoming primaries.

Not all the young superdelegates have been struggling with the decision.

Francisco Domenech, a 28-year-old from Puerto Rico, the YDA national committeeman, has pledged to support Clinton. He points to what he says is Clinton’s superior youth program as well as her support for issues of importance to Puerto Rico and Latinos.

“The targeted youth outreach of the Obama campaign was 18- to 22-year-olds,” said Domenech. “YDA represents 18- to 36-year-olds. We need to go beyond college-age young people for all young people. I don’t think [the Obama campaign] targets young mothers and fathers or young working professionals. Hillary does.”

Though Domenech says he will “wholeheartedly” support Obama if he is the nominee, he plans to support Clinton “until she gets the nomination or decides to bow out.”

District of Columbia superdelegate Jeffrey Richardson, 29, cites the enthusiasm that Obama has generated among young people as one of the chief reasons he supports him.

“The Democratic Party has an opportunity, with the groundswell of support Sen. Obama has built in his campaign with independents and young people, to expand the party long-term,” said Richardson.

Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns have put considerable effort into appealing to these superdelegates, with calls from the candidates themselves and from high-profile surrogates. But in interviews, the youthful superdelegates suggest that the Clinton’s outreach efforts might be a bit more aggressive — which could help explain why she fares almost as well as Obama among young superdelegates.

“The Clinton campaign has been much more serious in their delegate outreach,” said Crystal Strait. “Sen. Clinton and Chelsea Clinton have called me. Obama had [Arizona] Gov. [Janet] Napolitano call me.”

As the superdelegate angle has become a staple of news coverage, Strait says she has received even more attention, now mainly from those who are lobbying her from outside the campaigns. After a Feb. 11 appearance on National Public Radio, she was inundated with messages from young supporters of the two candidates.

“I had 63 Facebook messages yesterday and 42 new ‘friends’ [on Facebook],” Strait said on Tuesday. “They are young people from around the country, like Stephanie from Utah telling me about women’s issues, how she is moved by Senator Clinton. [And] a young man in Chicago telling me about disability rights and how Obama would be a better advocate for those issues,” she said.