Friend of Calitics and DNC superdelegate Crystal Strait has endorsed Barack Obama today, one of several recent superdelegate endorsements for Obama that have now given him a lead with the supers over Hillary Clinton for the first time in the campaign. Strait, who is also the political action director for the California Democratic Party, is quoted in a press release put out by the Obama campaign:
While representing the Young Democrats of America at the DNC, my number one priority is to ensure that young people are fully represented at the polls and in the Party. Barack Obama has shown a real commitment to young voters in his campaign and in response young people have overwhelmingly voted and caucused for Obama in these primary contests. We know that if a young person votes three times in a row for a Party, they become a Party voter for life. We know that because of high youth turnout in 2004 and 2006, 2008 is the third and critical election for young voters. And that’s why I know I want to pledge my delegate vote to Barack Obama.
This is pretty solid reasoning, and not just because it mirrors my own thinking. Crystal Strait helped to put together a panel on youth voters at the San José CDP convention in March and many of the stats she cites were presented there as well, and I recall thinking to myself “if this isn’t a powerful argument for an Obama nomination I don’t know what is.”
Her decision comes after some intense lobbying. As Frank Russo notes at the California Progress Report Chelsea Clinton had met with her on several occasions to try and win Strait’s support, and both Hillary and Bill Clinton had “private conversations” with her as well. There are bound to be some questions about why Strait did not make this decision sooner, as the reasons she cited were apparent several months ago – but it is clearly an important decision.
And it’s the right decision. Kudos to Crystal Strait for throwing her support behind Barack Obama.