For the first time in many decades, the Californian presidential primary is going to have a significant influence on the selection of the nominees, both on the Democratic and Republican sides.
Till the last election cycle, Californian primaries were typically held in June, a time when the selection of candidates was all over but for the crowning at the conventions. This year, by pushing the primary forward to what is now being called Super Tuesday, Californians finally have a situation where their votes matter.
WNI will attempt to lay down some of the numbers at stake for candidates from each party. On Sunday we will do a quick primer on candidates and propositions at stake.
Democrats: The Democratic delegates at the convention to nominate the candidate for President are divided into regular delegates and super delegates. The regular delegates are allotted based on candidates’ wins in various state primaries and caucuses. The super delegates are party functionaries, governors and former presidents whose political affiliations are up for grabs up to the day of the convention. While they may pledge themselves to one candidate or the other, their pledge is not binding. For the regular delegates, their pledge is binding for the first round of voting at the convention, after which they are also free agents.
The total number of delegates for the Democratic Party is 4049. To win, a candidate must get at least 2025. The Democratic National Committee mandates proportional representation along the lines of the Electoral College system.
California’s delegates: California has the largest number of delegates to the Democratic National Convention to be held from August 25-28, 2008.
Total number of delegates and alternates: 503
Total number of delegates: 441
Number of super delegates: 71
Number of delegates based on the election: 370
The Democratic delegate count so far:(magic number 2025)
John Edwards is out of the race but still has 26 pledged and 36 super delegates in play at the convention He is also still on the ballot in several states which may mean more delegates because of the proportional allocation system followed by the Democratic Party.
Republicans: For the first time in modern history, the state Republican Party will allocate delegates based on congressional districts won rather than statewide results. That means each of the state's 53 districts carries a prize of three delegates, no matter how many Republicans live there.( courtesy politico.com)
Consequently, a Republican who can win the 8th District, home of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and about 34,250 registered Republicans, can pocket as many delegates as a candidate who wins over the 199,747 Republicans registered in Orange County's 48th District, which is represented by Republican Rep. John Campbell.This ensures that Republican candidates don’t ignore any district.
The Republican National Convention is to be held on Monday, September 1, 2008 in Minneapolis. The total number of delegates at the convention is 2380 and the magic number for the winner is 1191. The Republican Party does not have "superdelegates," and many of the 123 national committee members who can vote at the convention are bound to support the candidate that wins the primary.
California’s delegates: California sends 173 delegates to the Republican Convention of which 3 are unpledged delegates.
The Republican Delegate count so far: (magic number 1191)
Rudy Giuliani dropped out Wednesday and has endorsed John McCain which means his 2 delegates so far will go with McCain.
Go out and vote on February 5th. Your vote counts.
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