Superdelegate

Superdelegates are delegates to a presidential nominating convention in the United States who are not bound by the decisions of party primaries or caucuses. Superdelegates are usually party officials or elected officeholders. Superdelegates were first appointed in the 1970s, after control of the nomination process effectively moved out of the hands of party officials into the primary and caucus process. The aim was to allow party officials to have some say in the nominee. As a means for this goal, they have been extremely unsuccessful as there has been no nomination in which superdelegates have had any influence. (Please cite a reference for this statement.)

In the Democratic primary phase of the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Howard Dean acquired an early lead in delegate counts by obtaining the support of a number of superdelegates before even the first primaries were held.