hot document: Primary sources exposed and explained.

Buying Michigan

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from: Bonnie Goldstein

Posted Friday, March 21, 2008, at 2:18 PM ET

More than 150 Michigan delegates and over 200 Florida delegates have been ruled ineligible to attend the Democrats' presidential nominating convention in August because both states violated Democratic National Committee rules on "presidential nomination timing and scheduling." The leading Democratic candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, agreed last summer not to campaign in either state, and in Michigan, Obama kept his name off the ballot. But neither expected such a close tally this late in the process. Because delegates from the disqualified states might potentially swing the nomination to Sen. Clinton, her supporters are desperately trying to find a DNC-approved way to seat them.

This week, efforts to hold do-over primaries in Florida and Michigan collapsed. But Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm reiterated that "there is no road to the White House that does not go through Michigan." An early Clinton supporter, Granholm continues to seek options to seat Michigan delegates. One eyebrow-raising possibility is for Clinton supporters to pay for the revote themselves. This 11th-hour proposal is being championed by Govs. (and Clinton supporters) Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. Corzine and Rendell say that a handful of rich Clinton donors (including baseball team owner Peter Angelos, investment banker Roger Altman, supermarket magnate John Catsimatides, attorney Calvin Fayard Jr., and philanthropist Brooke Neidich; see Page 2) are willing to put up $12 million to cover the cost of a new state primary.

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hot document
entries
12
from: Bonnie Goldstein

Posted Friday, March 21, 2008, at 2:18 PM ET
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Bonnie Goldstein is a former special investigator to the U.S. Senate and investigative producer for ABC News.
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