Former Democratic Leader Paul Kirk, Superdelegate, Backs Obama

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Paul Kirk endorsed Barack Obama today, the second former party leader to back the Illinois senator in two days.

Obama ``has and will continue to expand the electorate beyond the traditional Democratic Party base and bring young and new and independent voters to the Democratic banner in November,'' Kirk, a party superdelegate from Massachusetts, said in a statement.

Kirk's endorsement follows that of former party leader Joe Andrew, who switched his support from Hillary Clinton to Obama. Kirk and Andrew are among the 795 superdelegates who will have decisive votes at the nominating convention. The endorsements come just days before the May 6 Democratic primaries in North Carolina and Indiana.

While New York Senator Clinton still leads Obama in backing from superdelegates -- the party and elected officials who aren't bound by results of primaries and caucuses -- Obama has been catching up since the March 4 round of primaries. With Kirk's declaration Clinton has 273 superdelegate endorsements to Obama's 250, based on lists provided by the campaigns and public announcements. That doesn't include superdelegates from Florida and Michigan, which were penalized by the DNC for holding early primaries.

Obama leads among pledged delegates, 1,488 to 1,334, according to an unofficial count by the Associated Press. A candidate needs 2,025 to get the nomination.