The Democratic House Minority Leader pushed back against the idea that her party’s race for president is all wrapped up.
During her weekly press briefing on Thursday, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was prodded by a reporter to endorse former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the nominee, following the gains made by the front-runner on Super Tuesday.
The Leader responded that it’s too early for that talk.
“I have a great deal of respect for the voice of the American people,” she said. “Thirty-five states have not voted yet, and I think that it would be important to hear form them,” Pelosi added.
After winning seven of eleven states on Tuesday, Clinton extended her lead in pledged delegates over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), to 596-407. It takes 2,382 delegates to win the nomination.
Clinton’s lead widens considerably with the inclusion of superdelegates—officials, elected office holders, and lobbyists within the party who may support any candidate they wish, regardless of who their home states preferred at the ballot box. Superdelegates can–and have, in previous elections–changed their vote heading into the party convention.
Many observers of the race are noting both pledged delegates and superdeleagtes in their official counts, claiming Clinton’s lead in the race is insurmountable.
“I’m not a believer in the sway of superdelegates believing who is going to be the nominee,” Pelosi said on Thursday, saying that pledged delegates alone “should determine who the nominee is.”
She did recognize, however, that Sanders has his work cut out for him.
“Bless him for all the young people he’s attracting,” Pelosi said, but, “you have to do very well in those thirty-five states to overcome the advantage that Hillary Clinton has.”
