Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that he may try to force undecided superdelegates to make their decisions in the Democratic presidential race if it stretches into June. Reid said he would consider writing a joint letter with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) demanding that superdelegates make their endorsements public.
“The three of us, we may write a joint letter [to superdelegates],” said Reid. “We might do individual letters. We are in contact with each other.”
Reid's comments suggest that the party’s top three officials are contemplating a high-level intervention if the primary season concludes in June without a nominee and many superdelegates still undecided.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's 10-point victory in Tuesday's Pennsylvania Democratic primary means that the contentious nomination fight will likely continue into the summer. As the race continues to tighten, the decisions of the undecided superdelegates could determine the final outcome.
Both Dean and Reid have made no secret of their desire to see the nomination fight end by the end of June.
Reid said he would not rush any of the superdelegates for now.
"People will have plenty of opportunity after the last primary on June 2 to make a decision about what they are going to do," he said.
However, when asked by a reporter if he would be forced to intervene if the undecided superdelegates do not make up their minds, Reid replied, "I might have to."
The Senate majority leader also hinted that another high-profile superdelegate could be making an endorsement in the coming days.
Reid said he met Wednesday with all of the Senate committee chairman, and that one one chairman told Reid he was going to make an endorsement decision "soon."
When asked in the hallway if he was the committee chairman in question, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden delivered an emphatic "no