Bill Clinton to lead wooing of California 'superdelegates'

Nearly eight weeks after New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won California's Democratic primary, former President Bill Clinton will return to the state Sunday for some unfinished business.

He'll be trying to persuade undeclared "superdelegates" – Ed Espinosa among them – to vote for his wife.

Officially, Clinton is the featured speaker Sunday at this weekend's California Democratic Party convention. The San Jose gathering will draw 2,000 Democratic activists, at least five rumored 2010 state gubernatorial candidates and scores of other hopefuls seeking election to political office in California.

But the most sought-after figures will be the state's undeclared superdelegates, including many state elected officials and members of the Democratic National Committee.

Clinton and surrogates for the campaign of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama will be seeking private meetings with these super-deciders – the people who could wind up determining the Democratic presidential nominee.

If Espinosa is any measure, they might not be easily swayed.

A DNC member and public relations consultant from Long Beach, Espinosa worked on Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996 and backed the 2008 candidacy of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The former president telephoned him as soon as Richardson dropped out of the race.

"I've got to tell you, he is very persuasive," Espinosa said of Clinton's January call. "It is very difficult to tell the former leader of the free world that you've got to get back to him."

Neither Clinton nor Obama appears destined to win the 2,024 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination with 10 nominating contests left – including key primaries in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon.

That means the winning margin will likely come from the party's nearly 800 superdelegates. California will contribute 66 votes, the highest total of all the states.

According to an unofficial state Democratic Party count, Clinton now leads Obama 28-12 in endorsements from state superdelegates. She may pick up another after the April 8 special congressional election to replace the late Rep. Tom Lantos. The favorite, former state lawmaker Jackie Speier, is a Clinton supporter.

Meanwhile, 25 superdelegates are undecided or not saying where they stand.

They include Robert Rankin, a retired chemical worker and labor activist from Carson who backed former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Two weeks ago, Rankin got a call from Obama.

Rankin said he pressed the Illinois senator on what he would do to restore America's standing as "an industrial nation." Obama assured him he was "working very hard to address these issues," he said.

Rankin is torn. He believes in supporting the will of his state, which chose Clinton over Obama by nearly 52 percent to 43 percent. He also believes in standing with his congressional district, which went 54 to 44 for Obama.

The DNC member, who has also heard from former Clinton White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, told both campaigns that he wasn't going to make a decision any time soon.

"I want to see what the other states do," Rankin said. "I don't think it's so important that it has to be closed down now."

At the San Jose Convention Center, superdelegates will be hearing from Obama surrogates San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and former state Controller Steve Westly.

Co-chairman of Obama's California campaign, Westly has been calling superdelegates to tell them that the Illinois senator's selection is inevitable.

"I think you're going to see a steady drumbeat of people who look at the math and realize that Obama is going to win the nomination," he said. "The sooner people come on board, the stronger the party will be in November."

Chris Lavery, the Clinton campaign's California political director, said Bill Clinton and campaign officials will meet with state superdelegates to debunk the "bandwagon effect" the Obama people are claiming.

Lavery said the Clinton camp points to her wins and support in major Democratic and swing states as proof "she is the best candidate to go against John McCain in the general election."

State party Chairman Art Torres, a superdelegate prevented from backing a candidate until the August convention in Denver, extended invitations to the Clinton and Obama camps to meet with superdelegates in San Jose. "I think the superdelegates want to do the right thing. They want to make sure they listen to both sides," Torres said.

Lavery said the Clinton campaign "won't try to put too much pressure" on superdelegates who are "already feeling too much pressure."

But some are enjoying the attention.

DNC member Crystal Strait, 28, of Sacramento, said she "had a wonderful conversation" with Hillary Clinton in January, met with daughter Chelsea Clinton and heard from Obama surrogates Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Strait said she'll decide based on which campaign shows her the best plan to get out young voters.

Sacramento City College professor Steven Ybarra, who met with both Clinton and Obama at a DNC meeting in Washington last year, wants to know who will put the most money into Latino voter outreach. "I haven't heard that answer yet," Ybarra said.

And Espinosa, who resisted overtures from a former president, welcomes calls and letters from the far less famous Clinton and Obama supporters who track him down.

"I feel like people are engaging in the political process," Espinosa said. "I respond to them to let them know we're listening."

About the writer:

• Call Peter Hecht, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5539.