(R. Keith Roark, chair, Idaho Democratic Party and Idaho Democratic superdelegate)
Senator Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of R. Keith Roark, Idaho’s last superdelegate this morning, topping off his record 62-point Super Tuesday win in the state and clinching the state’s entire superdelegate prize.
To date, only Idaho’s four superdelegates and Nebraska’s six superdelegates are unanimously committed to Obama. No states are entirely committed to Obama’s chief rival, Senator Hillary Clinton.
Roark announced his support of Sen. Obama at a press conference Monday afternoon at the Idaho Democratic Party headquarters in Boise, Idaho. Joining him at the conference was Larry LaRocco, the Democrats’ leading U.S. Senate candidate looking to replace retiring Senator Larry Craig this fall.
Roark, who previously said he would remain uncommitted throughout the race, said the endorsement was a result of three questions he asked himself: who would be the better president, who would be more electable nationwide and who would provide the most down-ticket support for Democrats in Idaho.
“The Obama campaign invited me to Chicago on Friday to get a sense of what they are going to do in Idaho,” Roark said. “We have not had a Democratic presidential campaign in Idaho for decades. It is flown over, essentially.”
Roark said Sen. Obama’s campaign is committed to providing financial backing for Idaho’s Democrats as well.
“The Obama campaign staff is committed to putting real resources on the ground in Idaho,” he said. “They like Idaho, the recognize Idaho and they see what we did for them on Super Tuesday. We have a virtual army of Obama supporters who are all volunteers who are ready to get out the vote for Obama.”
Senator Clinton also aggressively pursued Roark’s endorsement, as he is the chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and the last superdelegate in Idaho to commit. Although, both LaRocco and Roark said Obama’s nationwide campaign is more in sync with their priorities and ideas for the future of the Democratic Party.
“Clinton supporters have a strategy of 18 states that will win the election and let them forget about everybody else,” Roark said.
According to Roark, Clinton’s campaign would be detrimental to Democrats in Idaho, partially because of how President Bill Clinton has referred to Idaho in recent weeks, one time joking that there are more elk in Idaho than Democrats.
“The Clinton brand in the state of Idaho is not good for Democrats,” Roark said. “The concern is that Clinton would not even compete for votes. Plus, Bill Clinton has made Idaho a whipping boy as he campaigned throughout Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and elsewhere. The difference in Idaho between these two candidates is like night and day.”
Just last week, Roark, then uncommitted, said if President Clinton had done for elk what he did for Democrats in Idaho, the state would have far fewer elk. The Idaho Democratic Party spokesman Chuck Oxley reiterated that sentiment.
“It's somehow magnetically grilled into his stump speech — to make this joke about how there are no Democrats in Idaho,” Oxley said. “Frankly, he didn't help.”
Obama visited Boise, Idaho on February 2, just three days before Idaho’s Super Tuesday caucus, drawing an astonishing 15,000 attendees. However, after Obama won the state’s caucus by the largest margin in the nation to-date, his now infamous San Francisco comments about small-town voters clinging to guns and religion have raised some fears that he may have alienated some of Idaho’s voters.
“I think people who would take that statement to be the defining point in who they would or would not support are already in the Republican Party. He is not talking about taking anyone’s guns away and he’s a strong supporter of the 2ndamendment.”
LaRocco, looking to capitalize on the national spotlight, took the opportunity to point out his similarities with Sen. Obama.
“Idaho is very independent, there are ticket-splitters,” he said, referring to voters who are not loyalty to any single party. “His nomination gives a great lift to candidates like me because he has energized the youth of this state and many independents. He is one who is saying very emphatically that he wants to bring America together – we are not red and blue, we are the United States.”
LaRocco said Obama’s message resonates strongly in Idaho, aided by Obama’s promise to use his resources in Idaho and pursue a 50-state strategy in the general election.
“Idahoans will be given a choice,” he said. “We have suffered from a lack of resources in the past. I am hopeful this is something we won’t have to deal with if Obama is in office.”
Roark’s endorsement came along with three other superdelegates on the day that will be remembered as the day Obama officially overtook Hillary Clinton in the last of the major categories – popular vote, pledged delegates and superdelegates.
(Larry LaRocco, Idaho Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate)