Clinton Wants Florida and Michigan Delegates Seated at Convention

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By Katharine Jose

January 25, 2008 | 11:33 a.m.

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The Clinton campaign just sent out a statement announcing that "our [the Democratic Party's] nominee" will need the "enthusiastic support" of Democrats from Florida and Michigan at the national convention, and therefore, she will ask "Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan.'

Both Florida and Michigan were stripped of delegates for breaking party rules by moving the date of their primaries. Clinton won the Michigan primary easily, partly because John Edwards and Barack Obama did not campaign there at all, and she is currently leading Obama in the polls in Florida by a significant margin.

Here's the full statement:

Statement by Senator Hillary Clinton on the Seating of Delegates at the Democratic National Convention

“I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee.

“I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention.

“I hope my fellow potential nominees will join me in this.

“I will of course be following the no-campaigning pledge that I signed, and expect others will as well.”

UPDATE: Obama campaign manager David Plouffe sent this response:

“No one is more disappointed that Florida Democrats will have no role in selecting delegates for the nomination of the party’s standard bearer than Senator Obama.

“When Senator Clinton was campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, she made it clear that states like Michigan and Florida that wouldn’t produce any delegates, ‘don’t count for anything.’ Now that Senator Clinton’s worried about losing the first Southern primary, she’s using Florida for her own political gain by trying to assign meaning to a contest that awards zero delegates and where no campaigning has occurred. Senator Clinton’s own campaign has repeatedly said that this is a ‘contest for delegates’, and Florida is a contest that offers zero. Whether it is Barack Obama’s record, her position on Social Security, or even the meaning of the Florida Primary, it seems like Hillary Clinton will do or say anything to win an election. When he is the nominee, Barack Obama will campaign vigorously in Florida and Michigan to put them in the Democratic column in 2008.”