Courtney says he'll decide presidential pick in June
WASHINGTON—Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democratic superdelegate, said Wednesday that he'll decide shortly after primary season ends June 3 whether to support Illinois Sen. Barack Obama or New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as his party's presidential nominee.
The freshman congressman said most Democrats know they risk hurting their party's chances in the fall if they wait too long to rally behind a candidate.
"A process that concludes in June is one that's OK as far as the party being able to recover and heal, and I still believe that," Courtney said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "A divided convention late in August, that's a problem."
Clinton lost to Obama in Connecticut's Feb. 5 Democratic primary, but she won Courtney's eastern Connecticut 2nd District.
"My position has been to really be respectful of the fact that my district was pretty closely divided, slightly leaning towards her, and that she really should not have her campaign foreclosed by early commitments by superdelegates," Courtney said.
Courtney is one of the sought-after "superdelegates" likely to choose the party's nominee if both Obama and Clinton fail to win enough pledged delegates during the primaries. Both campaigns have been reaching out to undecided superdelegates to seek their support.
Courtney, who won his seat in 2006 by fewer than 100 votes, said he happened to run into Clinton about two weeks ago at the Democratic National Committee offices in Washington.
"We had a nice five-minute chat," Courtney said. "She spent most of the time trying to find out how I'm doing in my district. I told her that my position really was to let the process play out. She definitely said she would like to earn my support."
Obama's push to secure his party's nomination was boosted Tuesday night with a double-digit win in North Carolina and a stronger-than-expected run in Indiana, where he almost overcame Clinton.
"Obviously he had a great night and her path has gotten much steeper, but I definitely subscribe to the school of thought that believes at least up to this point the primaries have been good in terms of party participation and registration," Courtney said.
Superdelegates are the nearly 800 elected and party officials who attend the convention. Unlike regular delegates, assigned to candidates based on the popular vote in each state or congressional district, superdelegates are free to vote however they please.
In the wake of Tuesday's results, the Obama camp was suggesting that it's time for the 270 remaining unaligned superdelegates -- who will determine the outcome of the race -- to get off the fence, claiming the delegate math leaves little path for a Clinton victory.
"Barack Obama took a giant and decisive stride towards the nomination," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a prominent Obama supporter, said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday.
Last week, Clinton picked up the support of John Olsen, head of the Connecticut AFL-CIO.
With Olsen's support, Clinton has the backing of two Connecticut superdelegates. Obama is supported by eight superdelegates, including Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Courtney and the state's Democratic Party chair, Nancy DiNardo, are the two remaining undecided superdelegates.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., is backing presumed GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
