By Matthew K. Roy
Staff Writer
May 08, 2008 03:31 am Tuesday's primary results in Indiana and North Carolina couldn't nudge Congressman John Tierney off the sideline in the hotly contested race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Tierney, one of six uncommitted superdelegates from Massachusetts, yesterday held onto his neutrality as the odds grew longer for Sen. Hillary Clinton, and conventional wisdom solidified Sen. Barack Obama as the presumptive nominee for president. "Massachusetts voters were clearly enthusiastic about their choices this election. I share that enthusiasm," Tierney said in a statement he reissued yesterday. "The respective campaigns appear to be equally enthusiastic about reaching out to all voters — both directly and through surrogates — and that is to be expected and respected. As I have stated previously, I have not announced my vote, and I have no present plans to do so in the immediate future." The outcomes on Tuesday did not provide Clinton's campaign with the boost it needed. She earned a narrow victory in Indiana (51 percent to 49 percent) and lost by a wide margin (56 percent to 42 percent) in North Carolina. The results further tilted the electoral math in Obama's favor. The Illinois senator has 1,840.5 delegates to 1,688 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 delegates to secure the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer. Clinton's slim hopes are pinned in part to the inclusion of Florida and Michigan in the nominating process. She won both states, but the party voided the results because the primaries were held ahead of the schedule set by Democratic Party rules. Obama's campaign yesterday said that he picked up the support of four more superdelegates, including former Clinton backer Jennifer McClellan of Virginia, North Carolina Democratic State Chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry. Superdelegates are Democratic Party leaders and elected officials whose allegiance to a candidate isn't tied to the outcome of a primary or caucus. They can vote for any candidate at the convention. In Massachusetts, 11 superdelegates, Gov. Deval Patrick and Sens. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy among them, have pledged their support to Obama. Nine are backing Clinton. "A so-called 'superdelegate' is, I believe, expected to weigh and balance one's own preference for any candidate, the preference expressed in a district or state, viability or electability, and the potential of superdelegates to weigh in at a convention in a way that would add to an eventual nominee's electability by affecting any margin of convention victory," Tierney said in his statement. In February, Clinton won Tierney's district when Massachusetts voted on Super Tuesday. Tierney isn't the only Massachusetts lawmaker who hasn't picked a side. Edward Markey, John Olver and Niki Tsongas, his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, are also neutral. Tsongas has said she will decide after the primary season ends on June 3. Next up in the Democratic race is the West Virginia primary on Tuesday. Kentucky and Oregon hold their contests a week later. Puerto Rico is scheduled for June 1, followed by Montana and South Dakota on June 3. Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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