Pollak Departure Not a Loss for Clinton's Superdelegate Count

In case you were wondering, the departure of State Democratic Party co-chair Dave Pollak does not mean Hillary Clinton's superdelegate count is down. That's because Pollak, a committed Clinton superdelegate, will be replaced by Reggie LaFayette, who is now the party’s second highest-ranking member.

In other words, this is different than the unexpected departure of Eliot Spitzer. David Paterson was already a superdelegate for Clinton, so his ascension to governor resulted in the net-loss of one.

Here is how Jonathan Rosen, a spokesman for the state party explains it:

Ok – finally clarification on this – the DNC rules state that the top two ranking officials in the State Party are automatically DNC members. Reggie Lafayette is now the 2nd highest ranking State Party officer after June and will take Dave’s slot on the DNC and as a delegate.

Spitzer’s slot is a slot reserved for the Governor – so it is now Paterson’s. Paterson was already a delegate by virtue of being an at-large DNC member. He cannot vote twice at the convention – so we are down one delegate slot.