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May 11, 2008 10:05:33 PM CDT

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Ex-DNC Chair Switches to Obama Camp  

Posted May 1, 08 6:51 AM CDT in Politics    Most Covered

(newser) – Joe Andrew, a superdelegate and the Democratic Party chair during Bill Clinton's presidency, has switched his allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama, reports the AP. Andrew had endorsed Hillary on the day she announced her candidacy, but in a lengthy letter to other superdelegates he says they must rally behind Obama to "heal the rift in our party."

The Obama camp had not sought Andrew's endorsement, but the former DNC chair says "he has shown so much mettle under fire," citing the Jeremiah Wright controversy and the flare-up over gas taxes. The change of heart cuts Hillary Clinton's superdelegate lead to only 19; she had previously held as much as a 100-delegate lead over Obama.

Source Associated Press

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Background on Joe Andrew
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2008 Democratic Convention Watch | May 1, 08

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Ex-DNC Chair Switches to Obama Camp
Mary Masceri watches as Barack Obama talks on the phone with Mary's husband Frank Masceri during conversations with working families in Beach Grove, Ind., Wednesday, April 30, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Ex-DNC Chair Switches to Obama Camp
Barack Obama speaks at a rally in Bloomington, Ind., Wednesday, April 30, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Ex-DNC Chair Switches to Obama Camp
Hillary Rodham Clinton shakes hands as she enters a campaign rally at Kokomo High School in Kokomo, Ind. Wednesday, April 30, 2008.   (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Barack Obama  • Hillary Clinton  • superdelegates  • Democratic nomination  • Democratic presidential candidates  • Democratic National Committee


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