Super delegates could become the way to put one candidate over the top | Jamie Dean
Alice Keeney for WORLD
CHARLESTON, S.C.—On a brisk January morning in Charleston, S.C., a bundled-up tour guide stands at the intersection of Broad and Meeting Streets, pointing out "the four corners of the law" to a handful of shivering tourists: Old City Hall, the federal courthouse, the county courthouse, and the 256-year-old St. Michael's Episcopal Church stand on each corner of the famous intersection.
Just down palm-lined Broad Street, a row of attorneys' offices sits nestled in a cluster of colorful buildings dating back to 1900. From his bay-window perch on the second floor of one of the narrow structures, Waring Howe Jr. (pictured) practices personal injury law in the same office his father purchased for his own law practice in 1949.
Super delegate timeline
1960s: No uniform primary system exists. Democratic Party heavyweights like Chicago Mayor Richard Daley work backroom deals and wield inordinate power in influencing the nomination process.
Early 1970s: The Democratic Party reforms rules to open up the nominating process and create a uniform primary and caucus system that gives more influence to a wider spectrum of voters, including grassroots activists and minorities.
1972: Sen. George McGovern wins the Democratic nomination, but loses the general election in a disastrous landslide: McGovern wins only one state and the District of Columbia.
1982: The Democratic Party reforms rules again, creating super delegates to give elected party officials more influence in the nomination process. Officials hope the move will help them retain a measure of control in selecting a nominee in sync with the party and viable in general elections.
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COVER STORY |
Issue: 
No pious baloney
