superdelegates

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama today saying he was confident that U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Governor

Martin O'Malley, who both threw their support to Hillary Clinton, would also rally around Obama's candidacy.

"I have no doubt that Senator Mikulski will be aggressively working on behalf of the nominee," Cardin said at a Washington press conference, where he announced his endorsement. "I am equally confident Governor O'Malley will be supporting the nominee."

Yesterday, Westminster City Councilman and Democratic superdelegate Greg Pecoraro threw his support behind Sen. Barack Obama.

In a statement, Pecoraro said he is "very excited to join the large majority of Maryland Democrats who expressed their enthusiasm for Senator Obama’s candidacy in our state's presidential primary."

"Like them, I believe Barack Obama is the right leader for our time. With Barack Obama as our nominee and as our President, we have real hope that a new way of governing the nation is at hand. I strongly believe that Senator Obama offers us the best opportunity we have had for many years to turn away from the politics of division and despair, and look towards an America of opportunity and progress."

Obama now has 10 of Maryland's superdelegates while 11 are supporting Sen. Hillary Clinton. Of the 99 delegates voting at the Denver convention in August, Obama leads Clinton, 53 to 38, while 8 are unknown.

PolitickerMD.com most recently spoke with Pecoraro on May 15.

As a member of the Democratic National Committee, Westminster Councilman Gregory Pecoraro is a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention in August. He is one of the state's nine uncommitted superdelegates, which means he's been busy fielding phone calls and meeting with the candidates and their surrogates.

Despite all the pressure to support either Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Pecoraro told PolitickerMD.com that he is taking the process in a "day by day" manner.

"There's not a lot of more information to gather," Pecoraro said, predicting, "You are seeing superdelegates starting to move to make decisions, and I think you will see more of that."

John GageUnion leader John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees and a Maryland Democratic superdelegate, announced his support for Sen. Barack Obama this morning, AP reports.

Gage's endorsement came with that of his approximately 600,000-member union of federal and D.C. government employees, of which he has been president since 2003.

In a statement, Gage said, "Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama's campaign."

He also expressed an anxiousness for the Democrats' to take on presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain.

"I think it's time we start really focusing in on McCain, who just has a terrible record when it comes to federal employees," he said.

Gage also serves as a trustee of the National Labor College in Silver Spring. He played for the ABL's Baltimore Orioles professional basketball team from 1968 to 1969.

In the aftermath of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) convincing victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the North Carolina primary and narrow defeat in Indiana, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Michael Cryor told PolitickerMD.com that the Democratic contest is "for all intensive purposes, over."

"It makes it a lot easier for the American people to appreciate the inevitability of where this contest is headed," Cryor, an Obama superdelegate, said of the results.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Obama secured 56.2 percent of the vote in North Carolina, compared to 41.5 for Clinton. He won 890,723 popular votes; Clinton garnered 657,997.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama: Photo by Getty ImagesMaryland Democratic Party Chairman Michael Cryor told PolitickerMD.com today that he hopes his decision to publicly endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will "sway" other superdelegates to the same conclusion. Cryor and state party Vice Chairwoman Lauren Dugas Glover, also a superdelegate, announced their endorsement for Obama yesterday at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Cryor, who has privately been an Obama supporter for some time, said he and Dugas Glover "committed to not endorsing until we had set aside all our requirements as a party."

The Maryland Democratic Central Committee finalized the state's delegation to the Democratic National Convention on Saturday.

"I thought it was important to do now," Cryor said, citing the completion of the delegation, the fact that the Maryland primary has long since passed, the importance of today's primaries in Indiana and North Carolina and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's encouragement of superdelegates to make a decision.

Former Gov. Parris GlendeningFormer Gov. Parris Glendening, who was selected Saturday by the state Democratic Central Committee as an unpledged ad-on delegate to the Democratic National Convention, discussed his decision to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during an interview today with PolitickerMD.com.

“I believe Sen. Obama is the strongest candidate in November and will be a great president,” Glendening said.

Glendening, who initially supported New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, said he has been “very excited and enthusiastic” about the Obama campaign for some time, but decided to “wait until the (delegation) appointment process was over” before endorsing.

Michael CryorState Democratic Party Chairman Michael Cryor and Vice Chairwoman Lauren Dugas Glover, both superdelegates, are endorsing Illinois Senator Barack Obama this afternoon, sources tell PolitickerMD.com.

Those close to Cryor have said he has been an Obama supporter for some time, but wished to remain neutral to help broker between dissenting factions within the state party.

After their endorsement, only 10 Maryland Democratic superdelegates will remain undecided. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton will have 11 while Obama will have 8.

Lauren Dugas GloverFormer Gov. Parris Glendening, who was selected as an add-on delegate to the Democratic National Committee Convention on Saturday, endorsed Obama over the weekend. He is also set to attend the endorsement press conference in College Park at 2:30 p.m.

Of the 99 voting members of the Maryland delegation, Obama has 50, Clinton has 39, and 10 remain unknown.

Barack Obama's state organization is holding an event in College Park later this afternoon to "announce new" superdelegate support.

Not sure yet whether this relates to Saturday's selection of PLEOs and add-on delegates at the state Central Committee meting or whether it relates to the 12 remaining undecideds.

Janice Griffin, a Maryland superdelegate and supporter of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), told PolitickerMD.com that Democratic superdelegates should support whichever candidate they think would make the best president - even if their votes would tilt the balance of the primary race.

"The rules are the rules," Griffin said when asked about the role of superdelegates. "A superdelegate can cast their vote anyway they want to."

Griffin would not speculate as to how the Democratic battle for the nomination would end, saying, "I'm not going there."

Obama leads rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) 1490-1334 among pledged delegates, and 1732-1599 when committed superdelegates are factored into the equation, according to an NBC News count.

While neither candidate will be able to obtain the necessary 2,025 total delegates needed to secure the nomination without the aid of superdelegates, a Clinton lead among pledged delegates at the conclusion of the nominating contests is a virtual mathematical impossibility.