It’s tough to be an uncommitted superdelegate

The Democratic presidential primary is getting more contentious every day. Barack Obama’s inability to close the deal and knock Hillary Clinton out of the race has given her an opening to finish strong and argue to uncommitted superdelegates that she’s the more formidable candidate.

At the same time, the math is on Obama’s side, and he is picking up the support of more superdelegates each week. Because of that, the Clinton campaign is having to fight harder and harder to stay alive.

Uncommitted superdelegates are being bombarded with pressure to pick a side. Loyalty is being questioned. There’s controversy over how superdelegates should decide which candidate to support. Do they go with the will of voters? Do they vote with their consciences? Do they consider other factors?

The Democratic Party is divided.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and others are pressuring superdelegates to make their decisions public by June so the party can unite and focus on defeating Republican nominee John McCain in November.

In New Mexico, six superdelegates have pledged allegiance to Clinton, three have announced their support of Obama, and three remain uncommitted – U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, state party Chair Brian Colón and activist Laurie Weahkee.

“It is a little overwhelming because I’m not a party insider and so I wasn’t expecting it,” Weahkee said of the “level of people calling and coming out of the blue” to try to convince her to support one candidate or the other since she became a superdelegate on Saturday.

She said she remains undecided because she hasn’t heard either candidate satisfactorily address issues American Indians face. She said she’s also concerned about social and environmental issues, but issues related to native people are her primary concern.

“I’m taking this very seriously,” Weahkee told me. “I just think it’s an excellent chance to push a little more to ensure that our voice is heard.”

Hesitant to talk

While Weahkee was willing to answer questions about the situation, Colón hasn’t responded to an e-mail I sent on Monday or a cell-phone message I left this morning. Udall was also unwilling to answer questions.

“Tom Udall remains uncommitted,” is the only statement I could get out of Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla. I pressed: What factors should superdelegates consider when deciding who to support? Does this primary need to wrap up by June? Can you even give me a generic quote of some sort beyond saying Udall is uncommitted?

Nope. And Udall isn’t answering similar questions from any national or state media outlet.

I’m guessing that’s because uncommitted superdelegates are in a delicate situation. Many, including Udall, are choosing to not say anything that could come back to bite them later.

Like one of Gov. Bill Richardson’s statements came back to bite him. He took criticism for endorsing Obama after telling the New York Times that superdelegates should support the choice of their constituents. New Mexico went, albeit narrowly, to Clinton.

A controversial selection

While they haven’t made contradictory statements like Richardson’s, Colón and Weahkee are caught in their own controversy over Weahkee’s selection as the twelfth and final superdelegate from New Mexico. Several supporters of Clinton – including superdelegates Mary Gail Gwaltney, Annadelle Sanchez, Raymond Sanchez and Christine Trujillo – have protested Weahkee’s selection. You can read their letter to Colón by clicking here.

They’re accusing Colón of breaking the delegate selection rules. Colón has the authority to nominate candidates for the state’s final superdelegate. At this weekend’s convention, he nominated two, including Weahkee. Both said they weren’t committed to either candidate.

Clinton supporters tried to nominate their own candidate – a Clinton backer – but the chairman said party rules prohibit it. Many Clinton backers voted for their candidate anyway, but Weahkee still won by five votes. The Clinton supporters now say Colón was supposed to meet with the state party’s executive committee before making his nominations, but Colón told the Albuquerque Journal that he abided by the rules. The party’s executive director, Josh Geise, said that’s the end of it.

We’ll see about that, but in the meantime, Weahkee said she’s proceeding with making a decision, and while she’s taking the input of others seriously, she doesn’t plan to cave to pressure. She said she’s hopeful that the primary process will wrap up “sooner rather than later,” but said it’s difficult to commit to a timeframe because the race is so “fluid.”

“At this point I just feel like I need to make my decision when I believe it’s appropriate to do so,” she said.