Super delegates may decide Dem. nominee

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The Democratic U.S. presidential hopefuls are locked in a tight race for delegates, so the so-called super delegates may decide the nominee, a report said.

CNN reported Thursday that it is likely that neither Sens. Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama will have the necessary 2,025 delegates to clinch the party's nomination.

If that case, super delegates – about 800 party leaders, elected officials and activists – would decide who is at the top of the Democratic ticket at the party's national convention in Denver, Colo., this summer.

"It's not the most democratic way of doing things," Maine super delegate Sam Spencer told CNN.

Democratic Party strategist Tad Devine said if super delegates decide the nominee there could be widespread dissatisfaction with the party.

"If a perception develops that somehow this decision has been made not by voters participating in primaries or caucuses, but by politicians in some mythical back room, I think that the public could react strongly against that," Devine said.