Olsen endorses Clinton
HARTFORD, Conn.—John Olsen, a superdelegate at the Democratic convention, is throwing his support to presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
Olsen, head of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, said Thursday that he voted for the New York senator in Connecticut's Democratic primary in February and has been impressed by her tenacity in the nomination battle and ability to appeal to core groups of voters.
He said he was particularly struck by Clinton's recent victory in the Pennsylvania primary, where she was vastly outspent by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
"She's demonstrated a real ability to reach out to real important constituent groups -- workers, Hispanics, Catholics," he said. "In order to win, we're going to need a real scrapper. And we need to have someone to continue to fight."
Clinton lost to Obama in Connecticut's Feb. 5 Democratic primary. She trails Obama among the state's 12 superdelegates, the top state party officials who get an automatic vote at the national convention.
With Olsen's support, Clinton now has the backing of two superdelegates. Obama is supported by eight and two remain undecided.
Nationally, superdelegates are nearly 800 elected leaders and Democratic Party officials. Obama leads in the delegate count overall 1736.5 to 1602.5 for Clinton. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win the nomination. About 230 superdelegates remain undecided, and about 60 more will be selected at state party conventions and meetings throughout the spring.
Olsen, a former state party chairman and a member of the Democratic National Committee since 1996, said he believes his support for Clinton helps to somewhat even out the state's superdelegate support. Clinton won 47 percent of the vote in the Connecticut primary, compared to Obama's 51 percent.
But Olsen said he doesn't necessarily feel bound by those results. He said it is "somewhat annoying" to hear people suggest that superdelegates don't have the right to make their own decisions.
"The rules are the rules. And within the rules, I'm acting out my responsibility under those rules as a member of the Democratic National Committee," he said. "I think I'm here to weigh and take a look at a bigger picture, not just follow the delegates."
Olsen made his announcement during a news conference at the state Capitol.
House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, a Clinton supporter, said Olsen's decision is a "bellwether endorsement" that "provides momentum to a national campaign that is clearly surging."
Rep. Jason Bartlett, D-Bethel, co-chairman of Clinton's campaign in Connecticut, said he hopes the state's voters will reevaluate their earlier support of Obama.
"The tide is turning here in the state," he said.
