Superdelegates. The ultimate buzz in the Democratic presidential primary. Superdelegates draw emotions of hate, but mostly confusion.
Superdelegates, or unpledged delegates, are party officials or life-long Democratic activists the Democratic Party appoints, and they are not bound to cast their vote to any particular candidate. They have the freedom to pledge their vote for any candidate, regardless of the primary results and outcomes.
Wisconsin has 10 unpledged delegates. Six are currently supporting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while three are undecided and one has pledged support for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont. Sanders won 56.6 percent of the vote in last week’s primary and held a 10 delegate lead in the state. Despite a solid performance in the primary, though, Clinton could come away with almost just as many delegates as Sanders.
Seem undemocratic? Seem like a way for the party to make sure outsiders are disadvantaged and grassroot candidates won’t win? According to Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, unpledged delegates are meant to do the opposite.
“Unpledged delegates exist really to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don’t have to be in a position where they are running against grass-roots activists,” Wasserman Schultz said.
The reality is that a party leader is running against a grassroots candidate, and unpledged delegates are deciding the election in favor for the party leader. Currently, the delegate and unpledged delegate count has 1,774 for Clinton and 1,117 for Sanders. That count makes it seem as if Sanders is hopelessly behind. But considering 469 of Clinton’s 1,774 delegates are unpledged delegates, the real race — based on caucuses and primaries — has Sanders only behind by 219 delegates.
But because of unpledged delegates, the perception is that Sanders has no chance. Unpledged delegates are silencing the voices of the millions of voters who have supported Sanders so far.
Schultz also said, “We, as a Democratic Party, really highlight and emphasize inclusiveness and diversity at our convention.”
If the Democratic Party were really all about highlighting inclusiveness and diversity, they would be behind Sanders. He has brought in a flood of young voters for the party, who otherwise wouldn’t have participated in this election season at all.
If unpledged delegates are really meant to help grassroots activists, they should be behind the grassroots candidate — Sanders.
Luke Schaetzel ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science.
