Like a particularly vexing crossword clue, every four years or so Democrats are forced to remember what superdelegates are, and the odd role they play in the party’s nomination process. As Samantha Bee explained on Full Frontal Monday night, it all goes back to the 1968 Democratic convention, where party leaders grabbed the nomination for Hubert Humphrey against the will of the people. This caused things to spiral disastrously out of control, which led to a more or less completely open primary process, which led to another kind of drama. Thus, in 1982, superdelegates were born. As Bee points out, they’ve never once stolen an election for the candidate with fewer pledged delegates, which sounds like good news for Bernie Sanders, but is probably bad news for Bernie Sanders.
Let Samantha Bee Explain Superdelegates to You Before That One Facebook Friend Can; Yes, You Know the One
