DNC ends superdelegates power of presidential election as socialists gain more control of Democratic Party
The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to curb the power of so-called “superdelegates,” limiting how influential major members of the Democratic Party and their donors are in selecting the party’s presidential candidate.
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Reformation comes at the organization’s summer meeting in Chicago, and resulted in a ban on superdelegates voting on the first presidential nomination ballot, unless a candidate has enough votes from pledged delegates.
Superdelegates make up around 15% of all voting DNC delegates and “include governors, members of Congress, mayors and others.”
That may sound small, but the early reporting on the votes dramatically shape the direction of the election as Bernie Sanders discovered after showing strong results in Iowa and New Hampshire, but trailed Hillary Clinton by a massive number due to the superdelegate commitments.
Fox News reports that the reform will force the superdelegates to wait until the second ballot at the Democratic National Convention before weighing in on which presidential candidate they prefer.
The more progressive wing of the DNC claims will help limit superdelegate influence, both on the process and in selecting the final candidate.
“Today is a historic day for our party. We passed major reforms that will not only put our next presidential nominee in the strongest position possible, but will help us elect Democrats up and down the ballot, across the country,” DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement.
“These reforms will help grow our party, unite Democrats, and restore voters’ trust by making our 2020 nominating process the most inclusive and transparent in our history,” he said.
Sanders backed the move in a statement on Twitter.
“Today’s decision by the DNC is an important step forward in making the Democratic Party more open, democratic and responsive to the input of ordinary Americans,” he tweeted. “This has been a long and arduous process, and I want to thank @TomPerez and all of those who made it happen.”
DNC member Bob Mulholland told The Associated Press that Sanders’ backers have held undue influence over the party since 2016.
“Three months before the midterms, and this is what Bernie Sanders and Tom Perez have us discussing? Such fools,” Mulholland, who backed Clinton in 2016, said.
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