200805111265 | Obama erases Clinton's lead in the superdelegates

Obama erases Clinton's lead in the superdelegates

Washington - Barack Obama erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates on Saturday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party's nomination for president.

Obama added superdelegates from Utah, Ohio and the Virgin Islands, enabling him to surpass Clinton's total for the first time in the campaign. He had picked up nine superdelegate endorsements on Friday.

The milestone is important because Clinton would need to win over the superdelegates by a wide margin to claim the nomination. They are a group that Clinton dominated before the leadoff Iowa caucus in early January, when she was able to cash in on the popularity of the Clinton brand among the party faithful.

Those party insiders, however, have been steadily streaming to Obama since he started posting wins in early voting states. - Sapa-AP