Former President Jimmy Carter came close to endorsing Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, leaving little doubt who the Georgia native will back as a party superdelegate.Speaking to Nigerian reporters Wednesday in the town of Abuja, Carter responded to a question about the prolonged race for the Democratic nomination.
"We are very interested in the primaries," Carter said, according to the Nigerian newspaper This Day. "Don't forget that Obama won in my state of Georgia. My town, which is home to 625 people, is for Obama. My children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama. As a superdelegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for, but I leave you to make that guess."
Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed the former president's remarks to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday.Carter was in Nigeria for a ceremony to celebrate the reduction of cases of Guinea worm disease to fewer than 10,000.
The former president is one of 13 Georgia superdelegates, those party leaders and elected officials who are free to support whichever candidate they choose. Of those 13, Obama currently has the support of seven; three are supporting Clinton and three are uncommitted.
Carter, U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.) and DNC member and labor leader Richard Ray have yet to announce their choice.
