WASHINGTON — As Barack Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, Tennessee and Georgia’s remaining uncommitted superdelegates said they still are holding off, until at least today, declaring their support — with one exception, former President Jimmy Carter.
President Carter formally endorsed Sen. Obama, D-Ill., after the South Dakota and Montana primaries Tuesday.
“The fact is the Obama people already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight,” President Carter told The Associated Press earlier in the day.
In Tennessee, state Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser declined comment on a story by The Associated Press that reported an anonymous party official as saying Mr. Sasser and Gov. Phil Bredesen will endorse Sen. Obama today.
“I’m not publicly saying anything until 8:30 a.m.” Mr. Sasser said.
The governor and Mr. Sasser are holding a breakfast meeting and news conference this morning in Nashville to urge unity between supporters of Sen. Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
The two candidates have been locked in a tight and sometimes heated battle for the nomination, with Sen. Obama inching ahead in the final weeks before clinching Tuesday.
Gov. Bredesen could not be reached Tuesday but on Monday told reporters in Nashville that he, too, would wait until all the primaries are finished before commenting on the candidates.
“I think it’s vitally important we start healing some of these fairly deep rifts that we’ve got in the party through this primary season,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., who has been critical of other superdelegates who publicly have endorsed candidates, said he intends to stick to his pledge of staying uncommitted until the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August.
Rep. Davis has said that superdelegates, the nearly 800 party insiders and elected officials who are given votes at the nominating convention, were created in order to help the party decide close races. Therefore, they should keep their options open as long as possible, he said.
“The (Democratic National Committee) granted (us) delegate status with the belief that we should wait till the convention, and I plan on keeping with that belief,” he said.
Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., also said through a spokeswoman that he remains uncommitted, and former Vice President Al Gore has yet to announce an endorsement.
In Georgia, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall said he still is uncommitted.
“Jim has his own campaign to run,” said Doug Moore, Rep. Marshall’s spokesman. “It’s a very competitive district, and he’s going to focus on his election and not the presidential race.”
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