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  Presidential Delegates FAQ

  Posted Friday, January 18, 2008 3:53 PM | By Christopher Beam

  As the prospect of more presidential dropouts looms, there’s been a lot of discussion about how the delegate count works. And with both primary races exceptionally close, a candidate's delegate count will soon start to matter more than his or her "momentum." A peek into Slate’s “Explainer” archives reveals quite a few useful, if slightly outdated, morsels:

  • John Edwards currently has 50 delegates in the Democratic race. (Hillary Clinton has 187; Barack Obama has 89.) What happens to Edwards' delegates if he drops out?
  • Say Edwards’ delegates wanted to support another candidate. Do they have free will?
  • Huckabee campaign chairman Ed Rollins essentially accused Fred Thompson of being a stalking horse for John McCain. What’s a “stalking horse,” anyway?
  • Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary, 39 percent to 37 percent. Why did they get the same number of delegates?
  • Speaking of which, is it possible for a losing candidate to have more delegates than the winning one?
    

  And for people just tuning in:  

  • What's a caucus?
  • Why does Iowa get to go first?

  Over the coming weeks, we'll be parsing through more delegate math, primary logistics, and other sexy topics. Feel free to send questions!
  

About Christopher Beam

• Christopher Beam is a Slate political reporter.

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