Portal:Superdelegate Transparency Project/Help out/Build the wobble list of endorsers

As it looks more and more likely that the superdelegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention will decide the party's presidential nominee, many are switching sides or hedging on their previous endorsements. We're creating "wobble lists" to see which endorsing superdelegates may switch sides and which way the undeclared superdelegates may break.

How to participate
Select a state: Select a state from the map below to look for its wobblers (it's best to open this in a separate window so you can refer back to this instruction page): WI:198-198-198,MI:198-198-198,NV:198-198-198,MN:198-198-198,TX:198-198-198,DC:198-198-198

Look for wobblers: Next, examine the list of superdelegates for wobblers according to the below criteria (see chart below). The easiest ones to start with are:
 * 1) The undeclared superdelegates that have accepted money from one of the campaigns (which the Center for Responsive Politics found predicted endorsements at an 80% rate) - you can find the campaign contribution in the "Accepted Donations From" column in the chart; or
 * 2) For those states that have had primaries - the statewide elected representatives (like U.S. senators or governors) or U.S. representatives whose districts line up with primary vote totals; or
 * 3) * NOTE: Texas and New Jersey vote totals do not line up with congressional districts, so don't use this criteria with them. Additionally, while Clinton won the popular vote in Texas, Obama won the caucus. Rather than get into a big fight over which is better, it's probably best to simply skip Texas in this test.
 * 4) Superdelegates that are listed somewhere as endorsing one of the candidates (such as on the New York Times superdelegate list) but don't meet the "solid endorsement" test (see below). This is a good way to accumulate any kinds of leads on a superdelegate that fall short of definitive.

Record any found wobblers:
 * 1) Record it in the "Delegate count" chart. To do so, click the "[edit]" link on the big "Delegate Count" line above the chart. Then look for the name of your superdelegate.
 * 2) * Tip: The superdelegates are listed in order of U.S. representatives first, then other elected officials and then DNC members, so look for your superdelegate before clicking edit to be able to find them more quickly.
 * 3) For superdelegates that have already endorsed but are now wobbling, simply add "(wobbler)" after Clinton or Obama's name in the "Superdelegate Status" column and increase the number of wobblers listed in the totals at the bottom of the state chart.
 * 4) For undeclared superdelegates, simply add "(wobbler-Clinton)" or "(wobbler-Obama)" after the "Undeclared" in the "Superdelegate Status" column and increase the number of wobblers listed in the totals at the bottom of the state chart. · Tip: The chart markup can be a little confusing, but you can always select the "show preview" button to make sure you did it right.
 * 5) Next, scroll down to the "Wobble list" section below the chart and add the name of the superdelegate in the appropriate category, making sure to list the reason why they qualify.

Tip: The Massachusetts superdelegate page has at least one of every type of wobbler listed - check it out for examples.

Endorsement and "wobbler" criteria
"Wobblers" are superdelegates who have endorsed Clinton or Obama but that endorsement is considered "wobbling" (less than solid). The criteria for endorsements is taken from DemConWatch, so endorser lists should match. If a superdelegate does something to obtain "wobble" status, they are still counted as endorsing Clinton or Obama until they make a definitive statement that they are switching endorsements or are officially "undeclared."

Undeclared superdelegates: regular, "leaners" and the "Pelosi Club"
All superdelegates are "undeclared" until they fully meet the criteria for an endorsement (see above). Undeclared superdelegates can be considered "leaners" towards either Clinton or Obama, however, for a number of reasons that indicate that they may break for one of the candidates.

For more help
For more help, feel free to contact Congresspedia Assistant Managing Editor Avelino Maestas at [mailto:amaestas@sunlightfoundation.com amaestas@sunlightfoundation.com].

New templates

 * Template:Superdelegate Obama
 * Template:Superdelegate Obama Wobble
 * Template:Superdelegate Clinton
 * Template:Superdelegate Clinton Wobble
 * Template:Superdelegate Undeclared
 * Template:Superdelegate Leaning Obama
 * Template:Superdelegate Leaning Clinton
 * Template:Superdelegate Populist