WASHINGTON — Democratic Party leaders want to regain control of the primary calendar and reduce the number of superdelegates through a new commission announced Wednesday.
They also want to review the caucus system, which presumptive nominee Barack Obama used so successfully this year. The commission would work over the next year and make recommendations by January 2010.
The review came from discussions between Obama’s campaign, Democratic National Committee officials and representatives of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign, Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro said.
The Democrats’ primary calendar was disrupted this year when Florida and Michigan violated party rules by holding primaries before Feb. 5. A goal of the new commission would be to establish a calendar in which only a handful of states could hold nominating contests before March.
The Republicans also are considering plans to revamp their primary calendar, perhaps allowing rotating groups of states to vote early.
The epic nominating battle between Obama and Clinton led to questions about the role of superdelegates and the way party caucuses were conducted.
Superdelegates are the party and elected officials who automatically attend the convention and can support whomever they choose. There will be about 820 at the convention, about 20 percent of all delegates.
The race between Obama and Clinton was so close that neither candidate could claim the nomination without help from the superdelegates.
