State's "elite" delegates not bound by caucuses

Not all of Washington state's Democratic delegates will be determined by the results of Saturday's caucuses.

Washington also has 17 "superdelegates" — an elite group that includes all Democratic members of Congress, the governor, party leaders and one-time high-ranking officials such as former House Speaker Tom Foley.

Unlike regular delegates bound by caucus results, superdelegates get to make up their own minds about which candidate to support — and they can change their minds. Just last week, Gov. Christine Gregoire, a superdelegate, threw her support behind Barack Obama.

Two other delegates will be added by party Chairman Dwight Pelz and elected by the party's Election Committee.

In a race that's shaping up as perhaps the closest in decades, the party's 796 superdelegates nationwide — about 20 percent of the total — could play a huge role in choosing the nominee.

Members of the Republican National Committee also serve as automatic delegates to that party's national convention. But they make up less than 5 percent of the party's delegates nationwide.

Three of Washington's 40 delegates are RNC members.