Three Maryland delegates pledge for Obama

Townsend goes for Clinton

The state central committee also named Glendening’s lieutenant governor, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, an add-on delegate as the party certified its 99 delegates and 12 alternates.

Townsend is supporting N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton.

With the state party’s delegates certified, Cryor said it was the appropriate time to make his support public.

‘‘As superdelegates, we are responding to the chair of the national party asking that we step forward,” Cryor said.

Glendening, who at the start of the primary season backed former N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson, said he believes Obama will bring change, especially to U.S. foreign policy.

‘‘All across the country people are starting to understand the importance of what is going on,” Glendening said. ‘‘Our foreign policy is entirely dependent, dictated, by our dependence on foreign oil.”

Pope-Onwukwe, an attorney in Lanham, said the enthusiasm for Obama among young people, including her son, a college sophomore and Obama campaign volunteer, helped sway her.

‘‘I’m supporting my son’s candidate for president,” she said.

Cryor said he is not worried about the lengthy primary process or the split of delegates between Clinton and Obama dividing the party, adding that he ‘‘shepherded” the process of certifying delegates ‘‘in the spirit of neutrality” and would not actively campaign for Obama in the Free State.

Supporting Obama ‘‘is one thing,” he said. ‘‘But to start going out and becoming an activist for Sen. Obama in my state is not in the best interest of the party.”

Cryor said that he talked to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who co-chaired Clinton’s campaign in Maryland, and that O’Malley understood his decision to support Obama.

O’Malley is a friend, Cryor said.

‘‘But this decision was mine,” Cryor said. ‘‘And these special moments when one must decide what you’re for sometimes puts you in different places.”

Cryor said he and O’Malley ‘‘are still united in this goal to restore common sense to this country and to win in November.”

Monday’s announcement leaves several Maryland superdelegates undeclared, including:

* U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Dist. 3) of Pikesville

* House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville

* U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Dist. 3) of Towson

* U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington

* Democratic National Committee members Gregory Pecoraro, Susan Turnbull, John Sweeney, Belkis Leong-Hong and John Gage.

‘‘It’s up to the candidates to move away from the divisiveness,” said Lauren D. Glover, a previously committed Obama superdelegate.

That needs to happen before the national convention, she said.

To learn more

For a list of delegates to the Democratic National Convention go to http:⁄⁄www.mddems.org⁄ht⁄display⁄ReleaseDetails⁄i⁄1169269