Which statement best defines a superdelegate in the presidential nomination process?

• A. Elected officials and party leaders who are not required to pledge themselves in advance to a presidential candidate.
• B. Delegates representing special-interest caucuses, such as those organized to represent blacks or homosexuals.
• C. Delegates at large who are chosen by a vote of the national party leadership.
• D. Delegates chosen by primary elections and grassroots caucuses.

Answer: (A)

Superdelegates are automatic delegates in the Democratic presidential nomination process. They are elected officials and party leaders who are not required to pledge themselves in advance to a presidential candidate, so they are free to support any candidate at the convention regardless of primary or caucus results. This contrasts with pledged delegates, who are chosen through primaries and caucuses and are bound by those results. The other descriptions mix up who counts as a superdelegate or describe pledged delegates or bloc caucus delegates, not the unpledged party leaders and elected officials who participate as superdelegates.