Clinton Leads Sanders in Committed Delegates, Almost All of Her Delegates Awarded Outside of Primary and Caucus Voting; Despite Huge New Hampshire Loss, Clinton Holds Large Lead

BALTIMORE, Maryland February 12, 2016 - The system the Democrats use to decide who their Candidate for President is coming under intense scrutiny.  This, after Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire Primary by a very wide margin, but merely split the awarded delegates with Hillary Clinton.  Each candidate was awarded 15 delegates to the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Hillary Clinton managed to gain such a result by locking up so-called superdelegates available in New Hampshire.  

There are a total of  4,763 delegates; i.e. votes at the Democratic Convention.  The winner needs 2,382 votes to be the Party's candidate for President.  There are a total of 712 superdelegates, each holding one vote in the nominating process.

Currently, Hillary Clinton has commitments from 394 delegates, compared to just 44 commitments for Bernie Sanders. Clinton's 394 delegates include 29 delegates gained in the Iowa Caucus (23 committed delegates and 6 so-called "soft" commitments, according to Democratic Party Greenpapers) and 15 from New Hampshire.  Bernie Sanders' 44 delegates include 21 gained in Iowa and 15 in New Hampshire.  As seen below, Mr. Sanders has about 8 commitments from superdelegates.

On November 13, 2015 - three months before the New Hampshire Primary - the Associated Press reported that Clinton had commitments from 359 Superdelegates, while Bernie Sanders had commitments from only 8.  Martin O'Malley had commitments from 2 such delegates.  The remaining 210 delegates were said to be uncommitted. The Democratic Party says that Superdelegates are "party leaders" or "elected officials" who are awarded a full vote in the party's nomination vote, and are not obligated to vote for the winner of the primary or caucus in their home state.  The GOP also has "super delegates," but they are obligated to follow the results of their home state's primary.

On Monday, The Hill reported that Sanders' supporters have demanded that superdelegates follow the outcome of the various party primary elections and party caucuses.  Among those supporters is MoveOn.org.  It is hard to imagine the Democratic Party being successful if its eventual nominee was not the choice Democratic Primary Voters.  But the superdelegate system has its defenders.  Harry Reid, the outgoing Senate Minority Leader and former Senate President said that superdelegates help blunt the overwhelming number of white voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. Almost every pundit and observer admits that outcomes in the two states are very influential in determining the eventual party nominee.  But even Reid said the system needed improvement.