http://mywebtimes.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=355106Rep. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, said Thursday he has identified eight and possibly nine House lawmakers who say they lean toward endorsing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., though he was not willing to say who they are or when they might make their support public.
Hare, who has been working to sway unpledged Democratic convention superdelegates to Obama, said of the 12 lawmakers he was assigned by the campaign, "none of them have indicated a preference for Hillary. Probably eight, nine are ready (to endorse Obama), I think. There are three that I'm still working hard on them."
Hare is among the 796 superdelegates who hold those positions as party officials, members of Congress, Democratic governors and former office holders. They are free to vote as they wish at the Democratic National Convention in August, but hundreds already have announced their allegiance and the rest are being heavily lobbied by both the Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns.
According to news accounts, Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., leads in superdelegate endorsements by about 244 to 207. Obama's newest superdelegate is Rep. Bill Foster, D-Geneva, who won the 14th Congressional District seat of retired House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Plano, in a special election last Saturday. Obama campaigned for him.
Hare has been talking to lawmakers from Indiana and North Carolina, where primaries will not take place until Tuesday, May 6. He said one or more potential Obama superdelegates in Indiana may go public in advance of the primary as a way to influence voters.