Superdelegates are undeclared and unfazed

Holdouts have variety of reasons as Democratic primaries hit home stretch

Ten Maryland superdelegates remain unpledged to either Obama or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and are perhaps hoping that they will not need to help determine the party’s nominee.

By holding out, some superdelegates may feel that they have bargaining chips that can be cashed in to improve their standing in the party, said David C. King, a professor with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

‘‘But for many superdelegates, they hope not to be part of the story,” King said.

Anyone undeclared has a bargaining chip, King said. ‘‘[But] morally or ethically they’re in a position where they don’t want to use them. They will choose to sit it out unless their vote is crucial.”

Some Maryland superdelegates have other reasons for holding out.

As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. said it was in the best interest of Democratic congressional candidates in special election races for him to remain neutral.

‘‘I made it pretty clear early on that I would not be taking a position,” said Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington.

That helped the DCCC to land an Obama appearance in a television spot for Bill Foster, a candidate for the seat in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District vacated by former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R).

Both Obama and Clinton raised money for Louisiana state representative Don Cazayoux’s successful campaign in the conservative 6th Congressional District in Louisiana.

As one of nine nationally elected Democratic National Committee officers, DNC Vice Chairwoman Susan Turnbull of Bethesda must remain neutral, according to the party’s charter, said Alexandra Chalupa, director of the office of the vice chairwoman.

According to the charter, the national chair is ‘‘responsible for ensuring that the national officers of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and evenhandedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process.”

Westminster City Councilman Gregory Pecoraro dropped every air of self-importance when considering his role as a superdelegate. There are two kinds of superdelegates, he said: the elected leaders who are expected to speak out and folks like him.

‘‘Nobody, in my view — except maybe my mother — is looking to me to say, ‘Hey, what do you think, Greg? Because it’s really important to me how you feel about this.’”

But in the waning weeks of the primary season DNC Chairman Howard B. Dean could have something in common with Pecoraro’s mother.

Dean has called for superdelegates to declare for a candidate by the end of June.

On Monday, two superdelegates, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Michael E. Cryor and Lauren D. Glover, the state party’s first vice chairwoman, announced their support for Obama at a news conference on the University of Maryland, College Park campus.

‘‘As superdelegates, we are responding to the chair of the national party asking that we step forward,” Cryor said.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening, an add-on selected Saturday as the state party certified its delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, also announced his support.

The state central committee also named Glendening’s lieutenant governor, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, an add-on delegate as the party certified its 99 delegates and 12 alternates.

Townsend is supporting Clinton.

With the state party’s delegates certified, Cryor said that he had ‘‘shepherded” the process of certifying delegates ‘‘in the spirit of neutrality” and that it was the appropriate time to make his support public.

Six primary contests remain: West Virginia on Tuesday; Kentucky and Oregon on May 20; Puerto Rico on June 1; and Montana and South Dakota on June 3.

The primary season is ‘‘starting to see some closure” U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes said.

Sarbanes (D-Dist. 3) of Towson, who said he has heard from both campaigns but not the candidates, remains undeclared.

‘‘I thought it was the most effective way to gather the most input I could,” he said.

‘‘People talk about the superdelegates making the decision,” Sarbanes said. ‘‘I really think it’s the voters making the decision.”

Sarbanes’ stance is a common one, said Conor Kenny, editor of Congresspedia and the Superdelegate Transparency Project, a project of the Center for Media and Democracy at the University of Wisconsin.

‘‘There’s a lot of anxiety among superdelegates about angering the grassroots base as well as disillusioning all the new party voters that have been brought in this cycle by making what would appear to be a smoke-filled room decision,” Kenny said. ‘‘... It appears that many of the superdelegates far from relish their role in this process and would prefer to see this contest decided by the voters and are waiting to see how the regular delegate tally ends up and then are likely to endorse the voter’s will with their own vote.”

Undeclared

Former Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Democratic Party ChairmanMichael E. Cryor’s announcement on Monday that they are supporting Sen. Barack Obama, leaves 10 of 29 Maryland’s superdelegates undeclared, including:

U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) of Pikesville

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville

U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Dist. 3) of Towson

U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington

Del. Heather R. Mizeur (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park

Democratic National Committee members Gregory Pecoraro, Susan Turnbull, John Sweeney, Belkis Leong-Hong and John Gage.