Can Superdelegates Swing the Nomination?

There are a limited number of delegates to the Democratic National Convention and the nominee basically has to get more than half of them on his or her side to win the nomination. The party gets 45 delegates in all, while 35 of them will be elected through the caucuses, and the other eight are called superdelegates. 

"The DNC actually calls them unpledged delegates but superdelegates is flashier. I kinda like it," says Chris Wicker, the only superdelegate from Washoe County.

Superdelegates are on their own. They can vote their heart for the party or the country. The other delegates will all be pledged, or obligated to a specific candidate they've campaigned for. 

"In some ways it's a bit of a payback to those who have done the heavy lifting for the party," Eric Herzik says. He's a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"It was feeling unfair in the party to give all the slots to those who caucused, say one big day and then went back to their everyday jobs, and not guarantee that some of those in the party who do the heavy lifting every day could take part. This was a way to include them."

The votes from regular delegates and superdelegates are weighed the same. But the superdelegates have more voting freedom.

So could they swing a national nomination?

"I think in a tight race they could. I mean 15% is not a negligible number," says Wicker.

But Herzik disagrees. While it's possible, he says it's highly unlikely.

"Say we sent 23 delegates and 8 superdelegates and all 23 vote for me, but the superdelegates don't like me and so they vote against me. Well, I still win 23-8. And if I do that in all the states, I win. So they superdelegates go home mad but I go home with the nomination."

Nevada's Democratic caucuses are this Saturday. 

All delegates to the Republican National Convention are elected in the caucuses and primaries. They don't have any superdelegates.