--- 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: 2026-08-19T07:44:56.476Z 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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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. 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  Justin Weiss for TIME 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/). 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