What Are Superdelegates?
The Democratic presidential nomination process is one of the most debated topics in American politics. Every four years political candidates go through a strenuous primary process where they compete for the nomination of their respective political party. Candidates in the Democratic Party are supported by three groups of delegates. The first group is known as pledged delegates, the second group consists of party officials called superdelegates, and the third is a mix of unpledged Party Leader and Election (PLEO) delegates.
Pledged delegates acquire their delegates depending on their percentage of primary election wins. Superdelegates, on the other hand, are unbound from primary election results; there are nearly 800 of them, and they have maximum influence in deciding the Democratic presidential nominee. Here, we will discuss what superdelegates are with an aim to provide the reader a complete understanding of how they operate.
What is a Superdelegate?
A superdelegate is a Democratic Party leader or elected official who votes in at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) as an unpledged delegate. Their allegiance is both to the party as well as to their own personal convictions regarding what they perceive as the best candidate to become the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the general election.
History of the Superdelegate
Superdelegates were originally established in 1984 as a way to bridge ordinary party members and the higher-ups in the party like governors and members of Congress. The superdelegate system was created as a way to ensure that the party’s bigwigs had a say in deciding the ultimate presidential nominee rather than leaving that decision entirely up to the whims of ordinary party members across the country.
Who are the Superdelegates?
Superdelegates include members of the DNC, current Democratic members of Congress, current and former Democratic governors, current and former presidents and vice-presidents, current and former Democratic members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and distinguished party leaders.
How Do Superdelegates Vote?
Superdelegates are not bound to vote for the candidate that won their state’s primary election. Unlike pledged delegates, they are free to vote for whichever candidate they want at the convention. This is why they are known as “unpledged” delegates and often referred to as “superdelegates”.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Superdelegates
There are both advantages and disadvantages of having superdelegates within the Democratic Party nominating process.
Advantages
Superdelegates are able to provide a voice for party leaders and officials that may be drowned out by the voices of the everyday party members. They also provide stability and framework for selecting the party’s nominee.
Disadvantages
The disadvantage to having superdelegates is that it gives an unyielding power to the elite within the party. This can be seen as a direct contradiction to the democratic process as it sacrifices the influence of the average party member.
2020 Presidential Race
In the 2020 presidential race, superdelegates had a big influence on the outcome. The majority of superdelegates supported Joe Biden, which helped him secure the nomination over Bernie Sanders. Similarly, in the 2016 presidential election the majority of superdelegates backed Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, even though Sanders won 22 states in the primary elections.
Proposals to Eliminate Superdelegates
Given the lack of democracy in the process of superdelegates, some Democratic operatives have proposed to eliminate this special category of delegates. Their goal is to suggest that every Democratic voter should be given equal weight and should bear the same responsibility in the nominating process. For example, the Democratic National Committee has proposed to halve the number of superdelegates in an effort to reduce their influence.
Superdelegates are Democratic Party officials and leaders who cast an unpledged vote at the Democratic National Convention. Their votes are not bound by the results of primary elections, and this has caused controversy in past presidential election cycles, particularly in 2016 and 2020 when the majority of superdelegates backed candidates that did not win the majority of primary elections. Despite this, attempts have been made to reduce the influence of superdelegates, in order to keep the nominating process more democratic.
