Campaign Notebook: Super-Delegate Endorsements

Ahead of screening by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees last night, by which the union will determine candidates’ acceptibility for its endorsement, State Sen. Terri Bonoff’s congressional campaign announced several endorsements from DFL legislators who represent parts of the Third congressional district. It’s a strong list — it includes thirteen of sixteen such state legislators.

What do these endorsements actually get Bonoff?Credibility, obviously. When she appears at events, it helps her impress a crowd to be able to say she’s been endorsed by nearly the entire DFL legislative contingent from the district. Depending on what happens with the AFSCME endorsement this week, these endorsements can do one of two things: hedge her bets if AFSCME is still upset with her over her recent votes, or double her winnings if they jump on her bandwagon.

But there’s another side to these endorsements for Bonoff — she, Edina Mayor Jim Hovland, and attorney Ashwin Madia have all pledged to abide by the DFL endorsement. This means that the Third district DFL convention will be the curtain call for two of these candidates, and endorsements from state legislators — super-delegates at that convention, able to vote on the floor regardless of what happens in their precinct caucuses and Senate District conventions — mean instant votes from those legislators who actually live in CD3.

The CD3 convention will have somewhere around 156 delegates able to vote. Those delegates (and their alternates as well) will already have issued presidential preference votes and have been voted into the state convention, so the senate and presidential candidates probably won’t be doing too much maneuvering. 

However, with a competitive congressional race and national convention delegates being selected at the CD3 convention, it will almost certainly be abuzz with activity on those fronts. An endorsement will require 60 percent, or somewhere around 93 full delegate votes (there are some half votes involved, in case you weren’t confused already) so having ten or so super-delegate votes — if they show up — is a great head start, but is no guarantee of a win. Three-way endorsement races tend to get interesting very quickly in relatively local races like this one.