Donnelly announces support for Obama

(from the South Bend Tribune)

Donnelly backs Obama
Congressman cites presidential candidate’s appeal for change, hope for future

By JEFF PARROTT
Tribune Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly today joined a recent wave of superdelegates who have announced their support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Donnelly made the announcement in a news release and was not immediately available for comment because he was flying back to Washington, said his press secretary, Samantha Slater. She declined to answer questions about the endorsement, saying that Donnelly planned to speak with a Tribune reporter later today.

The Illinois senator has picked up 26 superdelegates in the past week, according to the Associated Press. At that pace, he will reach the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination — 2,025 — in the next three weeks, when delegates from the remaining primaries are included.

Obama on Monday passed Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in superdelegates, and he already had led her in overall delegates and the popular vote.

Donnelly had said he wanted to wait at least until Hoosiers voted in the May 6 primary before announcing his decision. Clinton narrowly won Indiana’s popular vote. In the 11 counties that make up Donnelly’s 2nd District, Clinton also won by a slim margin: 87,185 votes to 85,218. However, an exact tally of the district’s voters was not immediately available because the district boundaries do not follow county lines.

Obama did win the district’s most populous county, St. Joseph, taking 33,227 votes to Clinton’s 30,062.

“Senator Clinton is a tenacious fighter for the American people, and particularly for working families, but I believe Barack Obama is the president that we need at this moment in history,” Donnelly said in his statement. “He has helped engage over 3 million new voters, tapped into the American people’s powerful desire for change, and pointed the way toward a more hopeful future for our country.”

Donnelly still an undecided superdelegate…

(from WNDU)

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are waiting to see whether those undecided superdelegates will end up in their corners.

One of those superdelegates is Congressman Joe Donnelly.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Donnelly says: “I have not yet endorsed either candidate who is seeking the Democratic nomination. I do not know on what date I will endorse, but when I do, I will back the candidate I think would make the best president.”

Meantime, NewsCenter 16 spoke with Donnelly Tuesday night about his superdelegate status.

“To be honest with you, I’m still at the Capitol. We just finished up our last vote. So I’m working on a couple things in the office and I’m a lot more focused on my congressional duties than on the presidential election,” explained Donnelly.

Puckett wants Donnelly response to Obama “bitter” comment

Article published Apr 15, 2008

ED RONCO
South Bend Tribune Staff Writer

A Republican seeking to challenge U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly in November says the freshman congressman should “denunciate” controversial statements made by Sen. Barack Obama.

Obama, D-Ill., was trying to explain problems he had winning over working-class voters, whom he said are frustrated with the economy.

He said: “It’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Obama has defended the sentiment of his statements, but has said he expressed them poorly.

A statement from Republican challenger Luke Puckett said Donnelly has remained “astonishingly silent” on Obama’s remarks.”Donnelly’s refusal to denunciate Obama’s offensive remarks suggests Joe Donnelly believes Hoosiers are bitter people just because they are people of faith, support the Second Amendment, and hold Midwest values,” Puckett said in the statement.

But Andrew Lattanner, Donnelly’s campaign manager, said in a statement that he can’t speak for Obama and won’t speculate on what the senator meant.

“I will say, however, that the people of north central Indiana, whether they live in small communities or cities, are, like Joe Donnelly, sincere in their love of the Constitution and their devotion to their personal faiths,” Lattanner said.

Puckett’s campaign also said Donnelly should make it clear whom he’ll support as a superdelegate to the party’s convention in August.

Election experts say the Democratic nomination could be decided by superdelegates, who get a vote at convention by virtue of their status within the Democratic party. Donnelly has told The Tribune in the past that he will cast his superdelegate vote based on a combination of how Hoosiers vote in the May 6 primary, his own judgment and on which candidates visit the state and address the issues he cares about, such as keeping jobs in Indiana and veterans’ needs.

But Puckett’s campaign points to $7,500 Donnelly received from Obama as a sign of Donnelly’s support for the Illinois senator.

That money came in the form of three $2,500 donations from Obama’s Hopefund Inc., a political action committee the Illinois senator established. Two of the contributions were made in October and November 2006, prior to Donnelly’s election.

The third contribution came on Sept. 27, 2007.

The statement from the Donnelly campaign did not address the money received from the Obama campaign.

Donnelly accepts contribution from Obama

Rep. Joe Donnelly has thus far remained an uncommitted superdelegate but has reportedly accepted $7,500 from Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign while not yet accepting any funds from Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Does this demonstrate Donnelly’s support for Obama?

For a list of contributions to superdelegates from the Obama and Clinton campaigns, please go here.