NIKI SULLIVAN; niki.sullivan@thenewstribune.com Published: May 19th, 2008In a letter sent to thousands of Democrats across the state, Pelz also called on members of the party to unite around Obama, who he said is “ready to be a great American president.”
“I feel the voters have spoken, that Sen. Obama will be our nominee, and that it is time for us as Democrats to begin the final stretch of this historic 2008 campaign to take back America,” he wrote.
Obama, with about 1,905 delegates, hasn’t secured the 2,025 votes for the nomination. But because Clinton trails by nearly 200 delegates, some have suggested she should bow out of the race.
“It is time to unify our party around one candidate,” Pelz wrote.
The party chairman’s announcement comes just before Oregon’s primary Tuesday, which Obama is favored to win, and a day after Washington’s Congressional district conventions, where the delegates to the national convention were selected.
Pelz had originally pledged to keep quiet until the national convention, but he changed his mind as pressure on superdelegates increased.
“As chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, it has been my job to represent all Democrats throughout Washington state as we navigated our way through the delegate selection process,” he said. “Yesterday, the process was completed.”
Pelz said he’s supporting Obama because he’s developed a deep respect for him over the years. He told supporters he was confident that Obama’s “inspiring vision and strong values” would serve as a stark contrast to the “Bush Republicanism” of candidate John McCain.
“Barack Obama can win this election, and has clearly energized a generation of voters that hunger for change,” Pelz wrote.
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