Democratic presidential primary

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) issued a statement today expressing support for Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) presidential candidacy, but stopped short of a formal endorsement.

"Over the last 18 months, Senator Barack Obama has energized and excited millions of voters who believe that our great nation must move in a new direction," Hoyer said in a statement to PolitickerMD.com. "He is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, and I look forward to supporting his candidacy."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) endorsed Barack Obama for president today.

Former Governor Gary Locke, one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's co-chairs in the state, told the Seattle Times today that he is acknowledging Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the primary and is switching his allegiance to the Illinois Senator.

Here is what he had to say:

It's clear that the primary contest is over. Sen. Obama has done an incredible job of inspiring and energizing voters. We need to bring this to an end. We can not wait. This can not go to the convention. It's time for us all to rally around Sen. Obama.

We should and must rally around him. I am very proud to support Sen. Obama.

As a member of the Democratic National Committee, Westminster Councilman Gregory Pecoraro is a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention in August. He is one of the state's nine uncommitted superdelegates, which means he's been busy fielding phone calls and meeting with the candidates and their surrogates.

Despite all the pressure to support either Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Pecoraro told PolitickerMD.com that he is taking the process in a "day by day" manner.

"There's not a lot of more information to gather," Pecoraro said, predicting, "You are seeing superdelegates starting to move to make decisions, and I think you will see more of that."

In the aftermath of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) convincing victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the North Carolina primary and narrow defeat in Indiana, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Michael Cryor told PolitickerMD.com that the Democratic contest is "for all intensive purposes, over."

"It makes it a lot easier for the American people to appreciate the inevitability of where this contest is headed," Cryor, an Obama superdelegate, said of the results.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Obama secured 56.2 percent of the vote in North Carolina, compared to 41.5 for Clinton. He won 890,723 popular votes; Clinton garnered 657,997.

Janice Griffin, a member of the Democratic National Committee’s Credentials Committee, told PolitickerMD.com that she expects Florida and Michigan’s delegations “will be seated” at the Democratic National Convention.  As a member of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, Griffin voted last year to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates.

When asked how those states’ delegates should be allocated between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Griffin said, ““I have not had time to think about it yet.”

Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates after the states moved their primaries to January, in violation of Democratic Party rules.

Janice Griffin, a Maryland superdelegate and supporter of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), told PolitickerMD.com that Democratic superdelegates should support whichever candidate they think would make the best president - even if their votes would tilt the balance of the primary race.

"The rules are the rules," Griffin said when asked about the role of superdelegates. "A superdelegate can cast their vote anyway they want to."

Griffin would not speculate as to how the Democratic battle for the nomination would end, saying, "I'm not going there."

Obama leads rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) 1490-1334 among pledged delegates, and 1732-1599 when committed superdelegates are factored into the equation, according to an NBC News count.

While neither candidate will be able to obtain the necessary 2,025 total delegates needed to secure the nomination without the aid of superdelegates, a Clinton lead among pledged delegates at the conclusion of the nominating contests is a virtual mathematical impossibility.