May 15, 2008 11:37 am US/Eastern
Maryland Clinton Delegate Switches To Obama
SUITLAND, Md. (AP) ―
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama smiles as he arrives on stage for a primary night rally at North Carolina State University May 6, 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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A pledged delegate for Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday he now supports Barack Obama, becoming the first pledged delegate to publicly announce that he is switching sides in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Jack Johnson, county executive of Prince George's County outside Washington, D.C., said he believes Obama has sealed the nomination and that Clinton has "fallen a little short of the line" needed to be the party's candidate in the general election.
Johnson said he will encourage other state party leaders backing Clinton to throw their support to Obama. "It is time for the leadership of the Democratic Party to come together and make a decision," Johnson said Wednesday.
Democrats apportion delegates to their August convention based on the size of the vote that candidates receive in each state primary. Clinton won 36 percent of the vote in Maryland's Democratic primary on Feb. 12. She was awarded 28 pledged delegates, including Johnson.
Those delegates must be approved by each campaign, a tactic designed to prevent defections. However, delegates are not required to uphold their pledge and can change their vote at the convention.
Clinton trails Obama in the national delegate count despite recent wins, including Tuesday's landslide in West Virginia. Obama had 1,883.5 delegates to Clinton's 1717 as of Wednesday, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Both figures include pledged delegates and superdelegates -- party leaders who don't have to makes pledges of support.
David Paulson, a spokesman for the Maryland Democratic Party, said besides Johnson, none of Maryland's 70 pledged delegates other than Johnson has announced a switch.
"Jack Johnson apparently has serious reasons for making his decision and it is his decision," he said.
Johnson, who has led the majority-black county since 2002, endorsed Clinton in February. The Washington Post has reported that his name was listed as a supporter for the Obama campaign two months earlier, but Johnson said Wednesday that he "was never with Obama" before his Clinton endorsement.
Johnson said in February that Clinton personally appealed to him for his endorsement, and he appeared on stage with her at a campaign event shortly before the Maryland primary. But Obama went on to win by an overwhelming margin in Prince George's County.
"I would have worked very hard to get her in the presidency, but I believe that we have reached the point where the race is pretty much over," he said Wednesday.
Johnson said he has spoken with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is co-chairman of Clinton's campaign in Maryland as he lobbies party leaders to back Obama. He also has spoken with Clinton supporters Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the governor "is still supporting Clinton" and that "there are a number of states that still need to play out."
Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Sen. Barbara Mikulski, said "Senator Mikulski stands 100 percent behind Hillary Clinton."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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