Suitors Keep Lines Open to Superdelegates

Sometimes superdelegates respond to politics, ideology, or longstanding alliances. Other times, they're won by girl talk. For one Philadelphia party official, a morning call from Michelle Obama sealed the deal, the LA Times reports. The would-be first lady covered everything from strategy to motherhood. “She was talking to me like you would your girlfriend,” says Carol Campbell. “No pretense. Just real.”

Calls like that are a hot commodity. Each of the nearly 800 superdelegates merits special attention, usually in the form of a carefully calculated call from a campaign heavyweight. Chelsea Clinton was enlisted to woo one college student superdelegate; Madeleine Albright makes other calls. Michelle Obama spent weeks trying to reach Campbell, which in itself impressed: “That’s not your normal candidate.” (More superdelegates stories.)