Democrats to Settle Score on Fla., Mich.

Committee likely to seat half of delegates, a blow to Clinton
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2008 7:33 AM CDT
Democrats to Settle Score on Fla., Mich.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks during a campaign rally in Maysville, Ky. Monday, May 19, 2008.    (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The Democratic rules committee has begun a daylong meeting to try to settle the dispute over the seating of Florida and Michigan’s delegates, chosen in violation of party rules. Many Dems expect half the delegations from each state to be seated, the Washington Post reports, which would do little to alter the delegate math that underscores Barack Obama’s virtual lock on the nomination.

If the full delegations are seated, as Hillary Clinton supporters are urging, the new "magic number" of delegates needed to clinch the nomination will go from 2,026 to 2,210, Politico notes, requiring Obama to capture more superdelegate votes, possibly adding a few weeks to the primary denouement. And the question remains whether the opposing campaigns will accept the decision or appeal to the party credentials committee at the convention itself. (More Hillary Clinton stories.)

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