Parmley Adds South Carolina Post

Former Oklahoma Democratic Party leader Jay Parmley, now an employee of the Democratic National Committe, has added the post of interim director of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

South Carolina party Chairwoman Carol Fowler said Parmley will take over Saturday. Parmley was interim director before the just-resigned director was hired. Parmley remains a DNC employee.

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Jay Parmley Endorses Barack Obama

Oklahoma Democratic superdelegate Jay Parmley tonight endorsed Barack Obama.

Parmley, the former Oklahoma Democratic Party chairman who now works for the Democratic National Committee, was one of four undeclared superdelegates from the state.

In a statement emailed to The McCarville Report Online, Parmley wrote, "The race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination has been historic. We have had two superbly qualified candidates, unprecedented numbers of newly registered voters and across the board near-record to record turnouts in primaries and caucuses. As an automatic delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, it was always my hope that Democratic voters across America whose votes determine the proportional make up of the pledged delegates to the DNC Convention would select the nominee of our Party. I believe they have done so, even if by the narrowest of margins.

"I will cast my vote at the DNC Convention for Senator Barack Obama.

"Voters in my own home state of Oklahoma chose differently, a fact I weighed heavily as the nomination process unfolded. I for some time have had a deep personal respect for Senator Clinton and that respect continues. However, as an at-large member of the DNC and automatic delegate, I have a greater duty to help unite our party as we head into the November elections. Senator Obama has brought thousands of new people into the political process and his campaign and election will restore people’s confidence in their government.

"Our task as a party is great. Our country is in crisis. Voters have a clear choice in November. Will we end the war in Iraq, fix our ailing economy, and provide much needed quality healthcare to all our citizens? These questions can only be answered affirmatively by electing a Democratic President. The fight for the Democratic nomination has been intense and now comes to a close. Our goal as Democrats is victory in November and that can only be accomplished if we come together in support of Senator Obama."

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Parmley Waits Until Tuesday Votes Are In

One of the most sought-after Oklahoma Democratic National Convention superdelegates, former Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Jay Parmley, who now works for the Democratic National Committee, says he will make his decision public following Tuesday's final primaries.

Asked if he's made up his mind about which presidential candidate he supports, Parmley replied, "I spoke with Governor Henry, Barack Obama and officials with the Clinton campaign today and told all of them that I am standing by my word that I won't commit to a candidate until after tomorrow night when all the votes from Montana and South Dakota are counted."

Parmley is one of four of the state's superdelegates who have not declared. Five have declared for Obama, including Henry, and one for Clinton. Other Oklahoma superdelegates who have declared for Obama are Senator Mike Morgan of Stillwater, activist Kalyn Free of Tahlequah, Reggie Whitten of Oklahoma City, and party Vice Chair Kitti Asberry. Hillary Clinton has National Committeewoman Betty McElderry.

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Superdelegate Jay Parmley: It's 'Not Over'

Former Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Jay Parmley (shown here, left background, with other Oklahoma party leaders at a Washington conference), who now works for Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and who is a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, said today the race for his party's nomination for president "is not over" and he's not yet ready to endorse either candidate.

Parmely's comment came when he was asked by TMRO if, given Governor Henry's endorsement of Obama today, he is rethinking his position of not endorsing either candidate.

"I think Clinton's decisive victory in PA clearly demonstrates this race is not over and I really prefer to let the voters have a say before the Party leaders make their choice," Parmley said.

"I won't decide until after all of the primaries and caucuses are over in the states and territories," he told the Oklahoma Daily two weeks ago. "I think it is important to weigh not only how Oklahoma voted, but how the rest of the county has voted."

Dean has called on the party's superdelegates to make their choices clear by June.

Parmley currently works for the DNC as a top field representative. He served as the Mississippi Democratic Party's Coordinated Campaign Director and the Interim Executive Director of the South Carolina Democratic Party. From 2001-2005, Parmley was the fulltime elected chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party. He is a past president of the Young Democrats of America serving from 1999-2001. Parmley was appointed by Dean as an At-Large member of the Democratic National Committee in 2005 and is a member of the DNC Budget and Finance Committee. Parmley is a frequent panelist at seminars sponsored by Democracy For America (DFA).

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Most Of Oklahoma's Superdelegates Still Undecided

Most of Oklahoma's Democratic National Convention superdelegates have not yet publicly declared their choice for the party nomination for president and several of them say they are waiting to see how the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (shown above with superdelegate Kalyn Free and former party Vice Chair Ben Odom at an event last year) plays out.

Some speculate the battle could play out all the way to the convention in Denver this summer. If that's the case, the nation's superdelegates become major players in the party's nominating process since they are free to vote for whichever candidate they wish no matter which candidate voters in their states favored. In Oklahoma, that was Clinton.

Oklahoma's Democratic superdelegates are Governor Brad Henry, Congressman Dan Boren, Party Chairman Ivan Holmes, Vice Chair Kitti Asberry, National Committeeman Jim Frasier, National Committeewoman Betty McElderry and DNC members-at-large Kalyn Free and Jay Parmley.

One of them perhaps spoke for most when, in an email response to an inquiry, wrote, "I haven't declared yet. I am very unsure. I think it could go either way. I am going to wait and see how a few more of the states go before I even try to make a final decision."

Two of the superdelegates indicated their preferences earlier; McElderry said she supports Clinton, while Asberry indicated she'll back Obama.

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Parmley Heads South Carolina Democrats

Former Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Jay Parmley has been named interim director of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

Parmley, who left Oklahoma following the 2004 elections for a national party post in Mississippi, is a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Parmley apparently is not a candidate for the permanent job in South Carolina, although he could be offered the job. He was chosen as the interim director because of his experience, Chair Carol Fowler said.

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