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Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

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“Can I ask you something,” said Larry David, impersonating Bernie Sanders in a faux-CNN interview on Saturday Night Live. “What’s a superdelegate? Who calls themselves that? It’s so cocky. They walk around like they’re such big shots. ‘Ooohh, I beg your pardon Mr. Superdelegate.’ Let me tell you something. I’ve met some of these superdelegates. They’re not so super. Mediocre-delegates is more like it.”

SNL-Sanders’ feelings about superdelegates reflect those held by many Americans throughout the 2016 presidential nominating season: a combination of confusion, uncertainty, and negativity. In fact, a survey conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC (National Opinion Research Center) Center for Public Affairs Research in May 2016 found that about five in ten voters viewed superdelegates negatively, which is slightly less than the two in ten who viewed them positively, and about three in ten really just didn't know what to think about them.[1]

Democratic party insiders seemed equally divided on the issue. Some, such as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, spoke out against the inclusion of superdelegates in the party’s nominating process. Warren said in June, “I’m a superdelegate and I don’t believe in superdelegates. I don’t think that superdelegates ought to sway the election.”[2] On the other hand, Mark Mellman, a Democratic strategist in D.C., wrote in The Hill in April 2016, “I believe superdelegates represent an entirely appropriate, indeed necessary, institution.”[3]

So what is a superdelegate?

Superdelegates are automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike at-large and district-level delegates, they are not elected to this position. Also unlike at-large and district-level delegates, they are not required to pledge their support to a specific presidential candidate, and they are not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, superdelegates included high-ranking members of the Democratic National Committee in each state and U.S. territory, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders such as current and former presidents and vice presidents. Distinguished party leaders in 2016 included President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and the Democratic Party's 1984 presidential nominee Walter Mondale. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 national convention.

Altogether, superdelegates made up about 15 percent of the total delegates to the national convention in 2016—there were roughly 713 of them. In May 2016, the Pew Research Center's "Fact Tank" published a study of the 2016 Democratic superdelegates that broke down the superdelegates into categories such as senators and governors and provided basic demographic data for them. The study found that 432 superdelegates were DNC members, 193 were U.S. Representatives, 47 were U.S. Senators, 21 were governors, and 20 were distinguished party leaders. In terms of demographic data, 417 were male, and 296 were female. About 445—or 62 percent—were white, 145 were black, 77 were Hispanic, 21 were Asian, and 25 were Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, Alaska Native, or unknown.[4]

“Who calls themselves that?”

To answer SNL-Sanders’ important question about superdelegates—“who calls themselves that?”—we created the list below. It shows every 2016 superdelegate from all fifty states, Washington, D.C., and the five insular territories. The list is based closely on one provided by the DNC to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016.[5] Some changes occurred to the list between then and the convention in July 2016 (deaths, resignations, criminal charges, etc.), and we tried to account for those changes when possible. We also included, when possible, which candidate the superdelegates were known to have supported. To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets—especially FiveThirtyEight's endrosement tracker—and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

As of July 11, 2016, 604 superdelegates were known to have expressed support for Hillary Clinton, while 47 had expressed support for Bernie Sanders, according to CNN.[6]

Superdelegates by state

Washington, D.C., the territories, and Democrats Abroad

Data

In May 2016, the Pew Research Center's "Fact Tank" published a study of the 2016 Democratic superdelegates that broke down the superdelegates into categories such as senators and governors and provided basic demographic data for them. The results are listed on the charts below.[4]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ APNORC.org, "The Frustrated Public: Views of the 2016 Campaign, the Parties, and the Electoral Process," accessed July 11, 2016
  2. ↑ CBS News, "Elizabeth Warren doesn't believe in superdelegates," June 6, 2016
  3. ↑ The Hill, "Mellman: In defense of superdelegates," April 5, 2016
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pew Research Center, "Who are the Democratic superdelegates?" May 5, 2016
  5. ↑ Vox, "Every single Democratic superdelegate, in one chart," February 22, 2016
  6. ↑ CNN, "Election Center," accessed July 11, 2016
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