In a major body blow to the crippled campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia said Wednesday that he’s switching his support and now backing presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 race for the White House, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
"Something's happening in America, something some of us did not see coming," Lewis told the Journal Constitution. "Barack Obama has tapped into something that is extraordinary."
Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Atlanta, is the most prominent black leader to defect from Clinton's campaign in the face of near-majority black support for Obama in recent voting. He also is a superdelegate who gets a vote at this summer's national convention in Denver.
According to the newspaper, "Lewis had placed a called to Clinton's office Wednesday morning but hadn't heard back from her. He also had a Please-Return-The-Call message of his own from Obama. By midday, he still hadn't returned it."
Lewis' announcement rocked the Clinton campaign, which was hoping to perhaps salvage what was left of the black vote. His stunning change of heart underscores the dramatic inner struggle for black congressional leaders, 18 of whom are backing Obama and 17 who are supporting Clinton.
"It's been a long, hard and difficult struggle to come to where I am now," Lewis said. He said the Obama campaign is transforming the nation.
"I did it because I felt I had to support Mrs. Clinton because of our friendship," Lewis said of his initial nod to the New York senator. "But also I thought she was ready to lead."
Obama said he’s pleased to have Lewis on board.
"John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the civil rights movement, and I am deeply honored to have his support," Obama said in a statement Wednesday.
For the Clinton camp, the Lewis defection was bad news for a campaign that has dealt with weeks of bad news. Some black Democrats told BlackAmericaWeb.com Wednesday to expect other members of the Congressional Black Caucus -- and other fellow Democrats -- to follow Lewis’ lead in the weeks ahead, particularly if Obama bests Clinton in Tuesday's primaries.
"They'll feel much safer endorsing Obama upon Lewis' endorsement," said Peter C. Groff, a Colorado state senator, publisher of Blackpolicy.org and executive director of the Center for African-American Policy at the University of Denver. "Some may continue sticking with the Clinton endorsement if they are in districts that aren't overwhelmingly African-American for fear of appearing 'too black.'"
"Black Congress members should also be very worried about how their Hillary endorsements are perceived by the larger black electorate," Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "There could be a sudden surge of primary challengers, younger African-American politicos, who could portray many long-standing CBC members as old-school and out-of-touch. It's clear that Lewis was worried about that."
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign put the best spin on a tough situation Wednesday and released this statement:
"Congressman Lewis is an American hero and Senator Clinton has great respect for Congressman Lewis. She understands the enormous pressure he has faced and respects his decision here."
Lewis, a respected lawmaker and veteran civil rights leader who for years has advocated for social justice, initially came under fire by some African-Americans for announcing his support for Clinton over Obama, who is hoping to become America’s first black president.
News of Lewis’ change of heart comes six days before critical March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio that could decide the fate of Clinton’s campaign. Vermont and Rhode Island also hold primaries on Tuesday.
Clinton has called Texas a political firewall, and former president Bill Clinton suggested recently that if Clinton does not win Texas and Ohio, she’s done.
The Clinton campaign has maintained that it must succeed in Ohio and Texas to have a realistic shot at the Democratic nomination. Obama has pulled to within six percentage points of Clinton in an Ohio poll released Tuesday, and polls in Texas show Clinton and Obama locked in a statistical dead heat.
More important, Clinton was hoping to solidify the black vote during the long campaign season with help from prominent congressional leaders like Lewis. But Obama, who has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses since Super Tuesday, has done so in part with large turnout from African-Americans voters.
Craig Kirby, a Democratic strategist, said he’s glad Lewis made the switch.
"All too often, people fight for change and they never have the opportunity to see or experience it," Kirby told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "I am happy that Mr. Lewis has this opportunity to both see and experience the excitement America now feels in this political process. Many people have fought for many years for the right to have this opportunity."
Democrats said black congressional leaders who are supporting Clinton are now under increased pressure from many of their constituents who are supporting Obama, urging the lawmakers to reconsider their positions.
In just the past two weeks, more than two dozen super delegates like Lewis have climbed aboard Obama’s presidential campaign, according to a survey by The Associated Press. At the same time, Clinton's are beginning to jump ship, abandoning her for Obama or deciding they now are undecided.
The result: He's narrowing her once-commanding lead among these "superdelegates," the Democratic office holders and party officials who automatically attend the national convention and can vote for whomever they choose.
Clinton still leads among superdelegates -- 241 to 181, according to the AP survey. But her total is down two in the past two weeks, while Obama's is up 25. Since the primaries started, at least three Clinton superdelegates have switched to Obama, including Rep. David Scott of Georgia, who changed his endorsement after Obama won 80 percent of the primary vote in Scott's district.
Democrats learning of Lewis’ defection Wednesday immediately wondered aloud whether Lewis’ switch would open the flood gates for other defections about CBC members -- and others -- or at the very least cause congressional leaders to re-think their loyalties.
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) said she remains loyal to Clinton. Tubbs Jones said on CNN this week that folks don’t jump ship because a candidate "is down and out."
She said Clinton "is not out, but she is down" and maintained she’s on the Clinton bandwagon until the end, win or lose, insisting that Clinton has the best experience to lead the nation.
In the race for endorsements in a tightening presidential primary season, the 43-member Congressional Black Caucus is almost evenly split between Obama and Clinton.
Since Lewis has switched support to Obama, Obama now has 18 backers from the Congressional Black Caucus, and Clinton has 17 supporters among the CBC's ranks. Three CBC members are supporting Edwards, and five have not committed to any candidate yet.
Obama’s supporters include Bobby Scott of Virginia; Danny K. Davis, Bobby Rush and Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois; Barbara Lee of California; Artur Davis of Alabama; Gwen Moore of Wisconsin; William Lacy Clay of Missouri; Elijah Cummings of Maryland; Sanford Bishop and Hank Johnson of Georgia; John Conyers of Michigan; Keith Ellison of Minnesota; Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania and Al Green of Texas.
Among those endorsing Clinton are Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas; Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio; Kendrick Meek, Corrine Brown and Alcee Hastings of Florida; Yvette Clarke, Charles Rangel, Gregory Meeks and Edolphus Towns of New York; Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri; Dianne Watson and Laura Richardson of California; David Scott, and Donna Christian-Christensen (V.I.).
"The reasons for multiple CBC member endorsements of Clinton -- many throwing it too early for comfort -- are multifaceted and complicated," Groff said. "For one, Sen. Obama did not 'kiss any rings,' failing to seek any approval from the vanguard and therefore rubbing many in the black political pantheon the wrong way."
"But, did any of the older CBC members do the same when they ran for their seats?" Groff asked. "Did Congressman Charlie Rangel feel he was too young to challenge the iconic Congressman Adam Clayton Powell? And the ease with which Obama is able to transcend his race -- while comfortably fitting into his blackness -- privately irks some within the Caucus who have longed used race to define both agenda and Hill power."
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Associated Press contributed to this story.
