On Sunday, March 9, leaders within the Democratic National Committee have debated the idea of holding votes again in both Michigan and Florida. The candidates had agreed not to campaign in those states. However during the contests, Senator Hillary Clinton had won both states.
But, the victories did not count as both states violated Democratic Party rules by holding their primaries too early. As a result, both Michigan and Florida were stripped of their delegates. Afterwards, US Democratic co-frontrunner Hillary Clinton has been trying to make those wins count. If they did, Clinton would currently lead over co-frontrunner Barack Obama in delegates.
Currently, Obama has a marginal lead over Clinton in pledged delegates. However, Clinton has a lead over Obama in superdelegates. So far, Clinton has managed to slow down Obama’s momentum by taking victory in Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
In the beginning, Clinton had the lead over Obama in delegates. However, they were virtually tied after the Super Tuesday contests. After Super Tuesday, Obama had taken the lead.
Currently, it looks as if neither Clinton nor Obama will have the delegates needed to grab the nomination. There is a high chance that it will go to the Democratic National Convention set to take place in Denver, Colorado, coming in August.
With Senator John McCain clinching the GOP nomination, he has more than enough time to prepare an offensive against either Clinton or Obama.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a former Democratic hopeful, has said that a nominee must be decided before the Democratic National Convention. He explained that the Democratic Party is suffering.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that a nominee will be decided before the convention. She said that the superdelegates cannot afford to wait any longer and must choose who they will side with.
Both Florida and Michigan if they counted would give a total of 366 pledged delegates and superdelegates. However, the delegate rules set by the Democratic Party are different than the rules set by the Republican Party.
The Democratic rules are proportional while Republican rules are winner take all. In the past, former GOP hopeful and underdog candidate Mike Huckabee suggested that the Republican Party should adopt the same rules.
While the governors of both Florida and Michigan said that it is unacceptable, Howard Dean, the DNC chairman said otherwise. He said that both states knew the rules and agreed to them long before they scheduled.
Dean said that a mail-in would be a good idea to settle this dispute. There have been talks of holding elections once again in both states. However, the main problem would be the cost. The question would be: Who would front the money to pay for the do-over elections?
Still, a mail-in ballot does not come cheap either.
“Every voter gets a ballot in the mail. It’s comprehensive. You get to vote if you’re in Iraq or in a nursing home,” Dean said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” which airs on Sunday mornings.
“The two things, I think that are established is [Florida] isn’t going to pay for it because their governor, who is a [John] McCain supporter, has said they won’t pay for it,” Dean said in regards to Florida’s Republican Governor, Charlie Crist.
Before Florida had its primary, Charlie Crist said while he hopes a Republican wins the presidency, he said that Florida’s delegates should count.
Dean said that the DNC is not going to pay for the cost either.
Ideas have been tossed back and forth. However, all ideas on the table come with major problems. The most common problems are costs and security measures.