Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Pelosi wants Democratic nominee decided by June

'There is so much at stake,' speaker says in Denver

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 8, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size  
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House speaker and DNC convention chair, chat after announcing that the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center in August will be the most environmentally conscious convention in history.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House speaker and DNC convention chair, chat after announcing that the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center in August will be the most environmentally conscious convention in history.

Related Stories

More Denver Democratic National Convention 2008

More stories »

Map my news

While the nation awaits word on who will be the Democrats' presidential nominee at the convention this August in Denver, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday she'd like to see the matter resolved by June.

Pelosi was in Denver to help launch the Democratic National Convention Committee's Green Delegate Challenge, but she couldn't leave without answering questions about the party's superdelegate situation.

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are still on the campaign trail battling for the nomination, which has led to a lot of angst among officials who would like to see the party come together soon on a candidate to face Republican John McCain.

"There is so much at stake in this election," Pelosi said. "I am encouraging our colleagues to think about what happens after the nomination. We must come together in a unified way to elect a Democratic president of the United States."

The Democratic National Convention is Aug. 25-28.

Nearly 800 party and elected officials make up the superdelegates who can support whomever they choose at the convention, regardless of what happens in the primaries.

Obama and Clinton are currently separated by 164 pledged delegates - 1,415 to 1,251, according to the Web site RealClearPolitics.com.

With the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, and a handful of other states still to pick delegates, it is mathematically impossible for either candidate to amass the 2,025 delegates needed to capture the nomination outright. Which leaves it up to superdelegates - of which Pelosi is one, as is the currently uncommitted Gov. Bill Ritter.

Both were on stage at the Pepsi Center, but neither would cast their support for either candidate Monday.

About 330 of the 795 superdelegates remain uncommitted according to The New York Times.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has asked all uncommitted superdelegates to commit by July 1, but Pelosi has urged them to commit even earlier - as soon as all of the states have voted.