Unpledged Delegates will give LaRouche voice at Convention [View All]

[Robb]

Unpledged Delegates will give LaRouche voice at Democratic Convention

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Three so-called "unpledged delegates" have agreed to support Democratic economist and lecturer Lyndon H. LaRouche at the upcoming Democratic National Convention, set for July 26-29, 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts.

The eight-time presidential candidate appeared with supporters in the state Capitol building Monday, saying that he is running to emphasize issues important to him.

While elected officials, party leaders and dignitaries will converge on the Fleet Center, the real power rests with the convention delegates. A Democratic hopeful's many months pressing the flesh on the campaign trail aside, it is these delegates who actually choose the party's nominee.

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Unpledged delegates make up about 20 percent of all convention delegates (ranging from 12 percent in Ohio and Florida, to 35 percent in Delaware, to a whopping 59 percent in Washington, D.C.).

They typically include local members of the Democratic National Committee and elected officials (like Democratic governors and representatives), who automatically earn a vote on the convention floor. In addition, the state Democratic committee (or existing delegates) chooses one or more "add-on" delegates a few months or weeks before the national convention.

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