--- title: Superdelegates: Bernie Sanders vs. Hillary Clinton Explained description: The race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will likely be decided by superdelegates at the convention. Here's what you need to know canonical: https://time.com/4341060/superdelegates-democratic-convention-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton/ author: Joyce Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-19T14:34:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:17:34.473Z article:section: Politics og:title: What to Know About Superdelegates in Under 90 Seconds og:description: Meet the party insiders who will decide the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders og:url: https://time.com/4341060/superdelegates-democratic-convention-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f48b4e483bd1daa/698893ce0a4a2243cc9c9b6a/superdelegates.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: superdelegates og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Know About Superdelegates in Under 90 Seconds twitter:description: Meet the party insiders who will decide the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f48b4e483bd1daa/698893ce0a4a2243cc9c9b6a/superdelegates.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What to Know About Superdelegates in Under 90 Seconds > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ccfa649d-3d01-4722-842c-6802c14ba1d9&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Everything to Know About Superdelegates [Watch (HLS stream): Everything to Know About Superdelegates](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jfVxzim4.m3u8) (1:22)  _Published 2016-05-19. The brief backstory of the Democratic party's superdelegates system._ by [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/), [Mathew Katz](https://time.com/author/mathew-katz/) and [Justin Weiss](https://time.com/author/justin-weiss/) May 19, 2016 2:34 PM UTC The brief backstory of the Democratic party's superdelegates system. by [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/), [Mathew Katz](https://time.com/author/mathew-katz/) and [Justin Weiss](https://time.com/author/justin-weiss/) May 19, 2016 2:34 PM UTC With the tense rivalry between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders [showing no sign of fading](http://time.com/4339786/why-democrats-havent-unified-yet/), the party’s nominee for president will likely be decided by “superdelegates” at this summer’s Democratic convention. The Democratic superdelegates are made up of party officials, governors, [senators](http://time.com/4294398/bernie-sanders-superdelegate/), representatives, and other senior leadership, all of whom get to cast a vote for the Democratic nominee. Some Sanders supporters, who have accused top Democratic brass of trying to steer the nominating process, have railed against the superdelegates for taking power away from the grassroots, though the Vermont senator’s campaign [has more recently begun to court them](http://time.com/4231656/bernie-sanders-super-pac-superdelegate-progressive-kick/). The clash between grassroots Sanders supporters and establishment party officials came to a head [over the weekend at the Nevada state convention](http://time.com/4339571/bernie-sanders-nevada-convention-chaos/). Watch the video above to learn everything you need to know about superdelegates. ## Transcript [00:06] [ MUSIC ] Superdelegates are special Democratic Party [00:08] delegates that can support anyone they want. Unlike [00:12] pledge delegates, which are allocated through [00:14] primaries and caucuses and have to support a specific [00:17] candidate at the Democratic convention, these [00:20] unpledged delegates can switch their choice at [00:23] Anytime. The super delegates are made up of every [00:26] democratic governor, US senator or representative, a [00:30] selection of party leaders like former presidents, and [00:33] Democratic National Committee members determined [00:35] by the national and state parties. The Republicans [00:38] don't have anything quite like this. The whole system [00:42] was developed in the 1980's after the party faced the [00:45] crushing defeat of George McGovern in 1972. I accept [00:49] your nomination with a full and grateful hart. And [00:52] Jimmy Carter in 1980. The point is to give party [00:56] leaders and elected officials a bigger role in choosing [00:59] the parties nominee. While giving voters a smaller role [01:02] in order to stop an insurgent candidate. That means [01:06] that if a candidate hasn't won more than 50 % of the [01:09] overall delegates, it's up to the superdelegates to [01:12] decide who will go on to be the Democratic nominee [01:15] for president. 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