Oregon superdelegates making Sanders/Clinton choices amid growing unease about system
SALEM — After Bernie Sanders won Oregon's Democratic primary this week, two superdelegates announced they'll back the Vermont senator and one declared support for Hillary Clinton, amid increased discomfort with a system viewed as undemocratic, even among some of the superdelegates themselves.
"Every Democrat I have talked to finds the unpledged delegate system offensive," Larry Taylor said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. He became a superdelegate because of his position in the Democratic party in Oregon, but that doesn't mean he agrees with the system.
After Tuesday's primary results came in, Taylor announced he would support Sanders, one of only three superdelegates to do so, with Sen. Jeff Merkley having endorsed Sanders before the primary. Seven have declared they back Clinton. Three remain undeclared.
"I don't think my vote ... should invalidate the vote of thousands of voters," Taylor said. Each delegate vote on the floor of the Democratic convention in July will represent about 8,500 Democrats who voted in the Oregon primary, he noted. He was speaking to AP from Philadelphia, where he and other party officials from Oregon were visiting the convention facilities.
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio is unhappy with this system. DeFazio, a superdelegate by virtue of his position as a congressman, is staying out of the fray for now.
"Generally, I do not weigh in on contested primaries, and as long as the race for the Democratic nomination continues, I have no plans to do otherwise," DeFazio said in a statement Wednesday.
He was blunt about his feelings about the superdelegate system, implemented by the Democratic National Committee before the 1984 election to prevent candidates with little chance of winning the presidential election from being chosen as the party's nominee.
"I find the role of superdelegates undemocratic and they should not be a part of the nominating system," DeFazio said. "Instead, I would prefer to let the voters determine the results of presidential primary."
Superdelegate Lupita Maurer came out for Sanders after his win Tuesday, and was delighted to do so.
"I believe I have to represent the majority of voters in Oregon, and so I will vote for him at the convention," she told AP Wednesday.
Maurer, who has dual US-Mexican citizenship, added: "I am from Mexico City, and to me he has done an outstanding job of standing up for the Latino community."
However, she is not a fan of the superdelegate system.
"It's outdated," she said. "We should just get rid of the delegate system completely."
-- The Associated Press
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