Supporters of 2nd tier candidates, OBAMA WANTS YOU!: Obama wooing supporters of lower-tier Dems

Obama wooing supporters of lower-tier Dems
Being Iowans' 2nd choice can pay off under caucus rules

November 15, 2007
BY JENNIFER HUNTER Sun-Times Columnist

With less than two months to go until the Iowa caucuses, White House aspirant Barack Obama is personally wooing Iowans who have declared support for Democratic presidential contenders who stand little chance of winning the Hawkeye state.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico are all cellar dwellers, poll-wise and support-wise, so it makes strategic sense for Obama to scoop them up before his rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) gets there.

Obama isn't really poaching support from these other politicians.

It's just that the Iowa caucuses work in an arcane way. A presidential nominee isn't actually chosen at the caucuses; delegates who represent him or her are, and then the delegates go off to the county convention.

If a caucus-goer supports Dodd, for instance, but there aren't enough others in the room in his corner, the Dodd supporter may be induced to switch to a candidate who does have a big following. And the Dodd guy will be sweet-talked and his vote bargained for by every group in the room.
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http://www.suntimes.com/news/hunter/651893,CST-NWS-hunter15.article