Lawmaker: Obama looking to clinch on Tuesday

A Pennsylvania lawmaker who has not endorsed a presidential candidate said Monday that Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) campaign is urging uncommitted superdelegates to back the Illinois senator on Tuesday so he can clinch the nomination.

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) told the Obama campaign that he will likely make an endorsement this week, but made clear he was not going to announce his decision on Tuesday.

{mosads}In an interview with The Hill, Altmire said the Obama campaign believes it can reach the 2,118 delegates needed to clinch the nomination on Tuesday. The plan would be for superdelegates to formally endorse Obama while the polls are still open, and then later Tuesday, Obama would gather enough delegates to reach the magic number.

That strategy would ensure that voters and pledged delegates — and not an individual superdelegate — put Obama over the top, helping to avoid the perception that party insiders ultimately decided the nominee.
There are 72 Democrats on Capitol Hill who have yet to endorse a candidate.

Altmire said he personally promised Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) that he would not make an endorsement until after June 3 and intends to honor that commitment. He does expect some lawmakers to formally endorse Obama tomorrow.

Clinton’s campaign has said it believes it can change the minds of superdelegates, but Altmire said he “can’t envision anyone” who would switch from Obama to Clinton at this point of the race.

The Obama campaign reached out to Altmire on Monday. Asked when the Clinton campaign last touched base with him, the Pennsylvania freshman member said, “It’s been a while.”

Altmire predicted there would be “a lot of movement this week,” but suggested some legislators will hold off on a formal backing of Obama until later this week.

“Clinton’s tone [after Tuesday’s primaries in Montana and South Dakota] is going to determine what the superdelegates do,” Altmire said, adding that if her tone is similar to that of Harold Ickes over the weekend at the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing, many lawmakers will likely back Obama.

Asked whether Clinton should be selected to be Obama’s running mate, Altmire said Obama should conduct a thorough review of possible running mates and that Clinton “should be considered.”

The Obama campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.