Obama closing superdelegates gap/ Undecided PA Voters Lean his way

AP Barack Obama is gaining steadily on Hillary Clinton among Democratic superdelegates, nearly erasing her last advantage in a presidential race where those party insiders could be the ultimate kingmakers.

In a danger sign for Clinton, Obama over the past few months has sharply cut her lead among superdelegates -- nearly 800 elected officials and party leaders free to back any candidate.

"Obama has won more delegates, he's won more votes, he's raised more money, and now you see it happening with superdelegates too," said Simon Rosenberg, head of the Democratic advocacy group NDN.

Neither Obama nor Clinton is likely to win enough pledged delegates in state contests to clinch the hard-fought battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, leaving superdelegates to decide the race. The Democratic nominee will face Republican John McCain in the November election.

Despite heavy courting by Clinton, most of the superdelegates who made up their minds since January backed Obama. Clinton's superdelegate lead dwindled to about 30 from 100 in that time.

A count by MSNBC gives Clinton 256 superdelegates to Obama's 225. Obama, an Illinois senator, has gained steam in the past month, winning more than two dozen new commitments, compared with a handful for Clinton, a New York senator. [MORE]

Temple Poll: Pennsylvania Undecided Lean to Obama
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire reports that  a new Temple University poll in Pennsylvania shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leads Sen. Barack Obama, 44% to 35%, among likely voters with 19% still undecided.

Key finding: "Adding in the undecided voters who lean to one candidate or the other shrinks Clinton's lead to 47% to 41%."

Differences among demographic groups are wide:

83% of blacks favor Obama, compared to 31% of whites
79% under the age of 30 favor Obama, compared to 28% over 60 years old
55% of women favor Clinton, compared to 32% of men
The contest is strikingly close, however, among white men, with Obama leading in that group, 40% to 35%.