Why It Works In both, the inspiring upstart shocks the party by capturing more states. (Hart won 28 to Mondale’s 24; at press time, Obama leads Clinton, 20 to 12.) Still, neither 2008 candidate is likely to win the 2,025 pledged delegates needed to clinch the nod, meaning the climax may also mirror 1984: with superdelegates deciding the outcome.
Why It Doesn’t Superdelegates and big-state wins put Mondale 623 ahead of Hart before the June primaries: hardly a nail-biter. Then 40 more supers put Mondale over the top. But if Obama’s lead (about 130) holds, supers will face a tougher choice: the insider who (barely) lost the delegate battle versus the upstart who (barely) won.
