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Delegate Chase update: Rybak on strong side of virtual tie?

by: Joe Bodell

Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 07:51:16 AM CST


Approximately 300 more DFL state convention delegates were elected this weekend -- so where does the gubernatorial endorsement race stand?

First, standard caveats apply: 970 delegates have been elected so far, and we have conventions that add up to 913. Of those 913, we have results covering 843.5 -- this means our results are not complete. That being said, they are complete enough to get a good idea of where things stand -- just not an exact one.

With that said, on to the totals:

Gubernatorial pledged delegates
Uncommitted: 369
R.T. Rybak: 143.5
MAK: 137.5
Paul Thissen: 58.5
John Marty: 49
Tom Rukavina: 41
Matt Entenza: 25
Tom Bakk: 20

The full spreadsheet is posted below. Highlights from the weekend:

  1. R.T Rybak obviously had a very solid weekend, going from about three delegates down to six delegates up in our count. The spreadsheet bears this out -- although Margaret Anderson Kelliher kept up her solid gains and is still comfortably in the overall lead due to superdelegate endorsements, Rybak had a very good day in the west metro suburbs and in Olmstead County, where he appears to have picked up 8 (!) delegates.
  2. Nevertheless, MAK is still in the lead overall, and will likely lead on the first ballot in April. If you factor in the superdelegate endorsements we already know of, and accept Team MAK's claims that fifty more are waiting in the wings, she already has about 17% of the first ballot racked up. Figure in at least a strong portion of the uncommitted delegates to date, and she's approaching 30% already, which will be tough for anyone to beat.
  3. John Marty had a great weekend too, making significant gains in pledged delegates in places like Rice and Itasca counties. He stopped by SD42 briefly during subcaucusing, and we chatted for a minute, during which I expressed my sincere appreciation for his engagement with the MPP community.
  4. Paul Thissen stalled out a little bit in the suburban conventions. His wonderful wife Karen spoke on his behalf at several events on Saturday, but there's a pretty big gap in his section of the spreadsheet in the recent conventions. He'll have support at the convention, but right now he's closer to the second tier than he is to the first.
  5. Props to the members of the Bakk/Choi subcaucus. Certain nomination for Best Subcaucus Name of 2010.
  6. Renew.mn is going to be a player one way or the other. Do they endorse MAK after the first ballot and nip the floor fight in the bud? Do they move toward R.T. Rybak or Paul Thissen and oppose the probable first-ballot leader? Only the ReNew.MN delegates know...and there are quite a few of them.

I'll have an update on the three competitive congressional endorsement races either later today or tomorrow morning. Here's the full spreadsheet -- as always, if you see discrepancies or districts where we're missing delegate totals, help us complete the puzzle. This little project has only gotten to where it is because of the efforts of the entire MPP community, and that's how it will continue to be right through the DFL state convention.

Joe Bodell :: Delegate Chase update: Rybak on strong side of virtual tie?
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Renew (0.00 / 0)
Is Renew going to endorse one candidate at the convention?  Does the fact that Rybak had the most votes of the three choices at the Renew convention have any significnance?    

The Undecideds (0.00 / 0)

are by far the biggest group in the delegate count.  More then enough to swamp MAK or Rybak should they break decisively for one candidate over the other.  Or, are they shadow Dayton supporters?  

Anybody have a theory on why there are so many undecideds in this camp?


Keep in mind (0.00 / 0)
Many of the "uncommitteds" are at least leaning one way or the other. Some have already dropped into the column of one candidate or another based on a phone call from the candidate, a staffer, or a surrogate. Others are stealth supporters of one of the other candidates on the endorsement ballot. The numbers you see here for each candidate should be treated as "hard" numbers -- the lowest possible point for their first-ballot support among delegates elected to date (and included in the tracker).

I think there's a possibility of an organic "draft Dayton" effort coming together to write in Dayton's name on the first ballot, but unless it's extremely well-organized and secretive enough to avoid any kind of detection until now, I don't think it will amount to much.

I also don't think the truly "Undecided" number is as high as "Uncommitted"'s total in this post.


[ Parent ]
Thanks! (0.00 / 0)

I was combining undecided with uncommitted.  A logic error on my part.  

So then here is another question: which candidates are doing the better job of courting the uncommitted delegates?  


[ Parent ]
Except (3.00 / 1)
These aren't hard numbers, nor are they a guaranteed minimum on a first ballot. There are no guarantees in this process. Even delegates elected out of named sub-caucuses have no requirement on how they vote. Delegates out of named sub-caucuses have been known to flip.

The other factor that goes double for super-delegates is the issue of turnout. Not everyone who gets elected a delegate will make it to the convention. Some only care about their congressional race, some might get sick, etc. And supers, unless they're incredibly strong supporters have a vested interest in staying off that floor. You never see 100% turnout from supers anyway, and I fully expect that trend to continue.

Additionally, while its true that many of  the undecideds won't be by convention time, and quite a few aren't now, none of the information here should be seen as giving any sort of indicator as to how those will break. The high uncommitted count could just as easily indicate a dissatisfaction with the leading candidates as a "there are too many good candidates."

Bottom line, short of actually polling all the elected delegates and alternates directly, these numbers are always inherently going to be inaccurate and should be taken with a very healthy dose of salt.


[ Parent ]
Strong side of a virtual tie? Huh? (0.00 / 0)
How many qualifiers can you fit in one headline?

57 delegates are missing from this count and the difference between the leading is six. It is very premature to say that either candidate is on the "strong side" of anything.

Your .jpg spreadsheet is difficult to dissect. Which county units are you missing? Could you please list them out?

The units most likely to be missing from this count are the very small rural ones, many of which awarded their delegates on caucus night. Do those delegates disproportionately lean towards one candidate or another? I guess we will soon find out.  


Wierd (0.00 / 0)
I don't know why people are being so cranky about Joe's scorekeeping.  This is the tally of the information that has been reported to him, nothing more, nothing less.  Yes, there are a lot of undecideds and other variables that can affect the outcome.  That doesn't mean that these numbers aren't important.  I, for one, have been glued to these posts.  In past years I had no idea how candidates were doing other than at my own convention, and I appreciate having whatever information is available.  

 


I agree with Dan (0.00 / 0)
This is SO interesting and my guess is that Joe isn't making millions from this work.

Great name! (0.00 / 0)
So scandalous and yet ...

[ Parent ]
assuming at least 2/3ds of the unc are already decided (0.00 / 0)
the 2 questions about supers are possibly the most important to predicting this:

a) will they show up in any kind of numbers?

b) will they vote the way they say?

I think the answer to A is no.  Therefore the assumption that MAK has the first ballot is probably not a safe one at this point.  


Where else..... (0.00 / 0)
Where else in the blogosphere or traditional media do you get local coverage like here? We get sheriffs races, school board races, delegate races, etc. etc. The service these folks provide is fantastic, if not always perfect. Don't let perfect be the enemy of fantastic:)

Joe-- (0.00 / 0)
I agree with Alec.

Let me add that since this is found nowhere else, it really should be more prominent on your page. Could you put a sign under or about the SUPERDELEGATE tracker on the front page? It is now hidden so anyone going to the site will not see it even exists.


Great point (0.00 / 0)
Tonight I'll add a page for the pledged delegate totals with some links to the spreadsheet and other resources right beneath the Superdelegate Tracker.

[ Parent ]
another scenario (0.00 / 0)
A combination of Rukavina and Bakk delegates would put one of them in third place.

I believe that's the plan... (2.00 / 1)
Bakk+Rukavina, then they throw their support to MAK after a ballot or two. That puts MAK on the path to endorsement... unless RT blocks said endorsement.

[ Parent ]
Perhaps, but ... (0.00 / 0)
I'm also intrigued by (and have heard from a few of) the Bakk/Rukavina team throwing their support to Thissen.  I'm told that Thissen has played better to the Bakk/Rukavina supporters than MAK (and certainly better than RT).

[ Parent ]
Labor won't let that happen... (0.00 / 0)
The bulk of the labor endorsements have gone to MAK, Bakk, and Rukavina. When Bakk and Rukavina are dropped their labor supporters will support the remaining candidate with multiple labor endorsements- MAK.

[ Parent ]
Um, remeber that AFSCME endoresment? (0.00 / 0)

Certainly didn't go to MAK.  


[ Parent ]

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