Hillary Clinton. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Hillary Clinton has locked down much of the support of Georgia’s superdelegates – the Democratic party insiders who can support whichever presidential candidate they want – but there are at least three who have yet to pick sides.
Former President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop and AFL-CIO President Richard Ray have so far declined to back either Clinton or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. We haven’t heard back from a fourth. The rest of Georgia’s 15 superdelegates backed Clinton, many long before she won nearly three-quarters of the Democratic vote in the state’s March 1 primary.
Clinton has an overwhelming lead over Sanders in the race for superdelegates, securing support from more than 460 of the 719 nationwide. Though they can change their minds at any time, the gap has sparked a backlash among Sanders supporters who have posted phone numbers and addresses of some of the insiders to urge them to switch sides.
A spokeswoman for Carter, who backed President Barack Obama over Clinton in 2008, said he hasn’t announced who he would support yet. Bishop, who represents a southwest Georgia district, said he would wait “until the process is over” before declaring a preference. And Ray said he wanted to wait for other votes before making up his mind.
“I know what Georgia did, but I kind of like to see what other people are doing in other primaries before I make my commitment,” said Ray. “Bernie is winning some, Hillary is winning some. I kind of like to see what the majority of people are saying in their primaries before I make a decision.”
Below is what we know so far about the superdelegates from Georgia – you can find the list of Republican delegates here – and keep in mind this is an evolving process. We’ll keep this page updated over the next few months:
Rep. Sanford Bishop – uncommitted
Rep. Hank Johnson – Clinton
Rep. John Lewis – Clinton
Rep. David Scott – Clinton
Former President Jimmy Carter – uncommitted
DNC Member Wendy Davis – Clinton
Young Democrats of America president Louis Elrod – unknown
DNC Member Dan Halpern – Clinton
Democratic Party Chair DuBose Porter – Clinton
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed – Clinton
DNC Member Sally Rosser – Clinton
DNC Member Pam Stephenson – Clinton
Democratic Party Vice-Chair Nikema Williams – Clinton
DNC Member David Worley – Clinton
