You've probably never heard of Debra Kozikowski, but Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama sure have. Since Super Tuesday, heavyweights from both campaigns have been wooing Kozikowski, a Massachusetts Democratic Party official. Obama enlisted her governor, Deval Patrick, to deliver a plea on the candidate's behalf, while Clinton asked party elder Harold Ickes to speak with her. Why the star treatment? Kozikowski is a "superdelegate," one of 796 politicians and party loyalists who get a vote for the nomination. This year their votes could make all the difference. In most presidential elections, one candidate racks up enough delegates in primaries and caucuses to capture the 2,025 needed to cinch the nomination; the superdelegates are mostly symbolic. But so far the primaries have yet to produce a clear winner—and as a result, those 796 "supers" suddenly have a lot more friends. (The Republican Party does not have superdelegates.)
Louisiana superdelegate Claude (Buddy) Leach told NEWSWEEK he received at least 10 calls from the campaigns last week. Some of the callers, he says, were also happy to discuss Leach's other great passion besides politics: duck hunting. "I'm flattered that they'd call someone as unimportant as I am," Leach says. His wife isn't. "My phone has become her nemesis." It's against party rules to promise anything in exchange for votes, so the schmoozing has been more subtle: If you come with us, we'll remember it later. Leach and Kozikowski say they're still mulling their pick, though Kozikowski has been more wowed by Obama's efforts. She loved talking with her friend Governor Patrick, but wasn't so sure about Hillary's choice of old-timer Ickes. "He doesn't meet my definition of star quality," she says. "I'm holding out for Jack Nicholson."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
