Party rules allot primary delegates on a proportional basis, making it impossible for Clinton to overtake Obama in pledged delegates during the last eight primaries. If she and Obama divide the remaining delegates evenly, she would need to pick up about two-thirds of the uncommitted superdelegates to gain the nomination.
To bring superdelegates her way, Clinton is arguing that she would be the stronger candidate against Republican John McCain in the fall. Many of the superdelegates "are beginning to focus very much on who can bring in the so-called purple or swing states, such as Ohio, New Mexico, Nevada, Arkansas, Florida," Harold Ickes, a top Clinton campaign aide, said on MSNBC.
Obama, after suffering a bout of bad publicity over his controversial former pastor and watching Clinton's economic message resonate with voters, has been rolling out superdelegate announcements in several states. In addition to the Maryland announcement yesterday, a third superdelegate, from Oklahoma, publicly declared her support.
The latest endorsements bring Obama to within 14 superdelegates of Clinton, out of more than 500 who have announced their position, according to the Associated Press.
About 220 superdelegates have yet to commit publicly, though both campaigns maintain lists of undeclared supporters. According to one party insider, Obama has at least 50 unannounced superdelegates in reserve, and his campaign could decide to release enough names this week to leap ahead of Clinton in the superdelegate race.
Several superdelegates who previously announced support for Clinton have recently indicated, either publicly or privately, that they would shift their allegiance to Obama.
In Maryland, which Obama won by a landslide in the Feb. 12 primary, Clinton leads in superdelegates by nine to six, with 11 undeclared. Among those who have yet to publicly commit are Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin and Rep. John Sarbanes of Baltimore.
Cryor said that Obama had shown "courage and discipline" during the primary fight and that the Illinois senator's actions "require me to show some courage as well." He said he had remained publicly neutral through Saturday's state party meeting at which additional delegates were selected.
Cryor was Gov. Martin O'Malley's choice to head the Maryland party. O'Malley, an early Clinton superdelegate, was not troubled by Cryor's decision and plans to continue working on behalf of Clinton, said Rick Abbruzzese, a spokesman for the governor.
