POLITICS 88 : CAMPAIGN ’88 : ‘Super Delegate’ Count

For the Democrats, 1988 may well be the year of the “super delegate.” As the likelihood of a brokered nomination grows with each inconclusive primary, increasing attention is being paid to the 640 or so high-ranking Democrats--governors, members of Congress and members of the party’s national committee--who, by virtue of their office, will be convention delegates.

One sign of this attention is that the super-delegate polls and surveys are starting. CBS News this week managed to get more than half of them to express their presidential preference. The breakdown: Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, 120 votes, or 33% of those responding; Missouri Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, 84 votes for 23%; Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr., 61 for 17%; the Rev. Jesse Jackson, 54 for 15%, and Illinois Sen. Paul Simon, 42 for 12%.