Projo Politics Blog

How much impact did Rhode Island actually have on the fierce contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama for the 2,000-plus delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination for president?

For those still waiting for a final account of which local candidates won Rhode Island’s presidential delegate-selection primary March 4 and how those delegates were split between New York Senator Clinton and Illinois Senator Obama, here goes:

On that day, Clinton won a total of 13 delegates and Obama captured 8, according to the state Democratic Party Web site.

The winning Clinton delegate slate included three-time Democratic candidate for governor Myrth York; former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. and his 23-year-old daughter, Jennifer; former Lt. Gov. Richard Licht, state Rep. David Caprio; Dr. Patricia Flanagan, the wife of the East Greenwich Democratic Party Chairman Mark Schwager; and veteran Democratic party fundraiser Mark Weiner’s wife, Susan, and 24-year-old son, Mark S. Weiner and (For the record: the elder Weiner also has a seat waiting for him at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, but as one of the unpledged “superdelegates” who did not have to run March 4.)

The winning Obama slate included Roger Williams University law student Kimberly Ahern; state Democratic Party Chairman William Lynch’s brother, John Lynch; former Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty; Jill Harrington, of Cranston, and former state Attorney General James O’Neil.

In addition, the vote tally apportioned five more delegates to Clinton and three more delegates to Obama from a pool of party leaders, elected officials and at-large candidates for the delegate seats.

While there was no question Clinton won the Rhode Island primary, the rules surrounding the delegate selection — and the necessity of choosing the highest female vote-getter, and then the highest male voter-getter, and then the next-highest female vote-getter … and so on … instead of just checking off the top vote-getters — are confusing.

Because of those rules, some of the apparent winners ended up as alternates. The alternates include state Rep. Charlene Lima and Deborah Ruggiero, the chairwoman of the Jamestown Democratic Committee on Clinton’s side, and Walter Stone on Obama’s side, according to the party Web site.

All together, Rhode Island will send 33 delegates to the national Democratic National Convention, according to the party’s executive director, Tim Grilo.

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