In the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday"" Presidential contests, delegates matter almost as much as who wins a state, with ""super delegates"" making the outcome difficult to predict.
Rachel Strauch-Nelson, communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said the closeness of the race makes gaining individual delegates more important than in past elections.
""This race is really becoming a hunt for delegates more so than in any [recent] cycle,"" Strauch-Nelson said.
Over half of all Democratic delegates will be decided on Tuesday, with 2,025 needed to win the nomination. A similar amount is at stake in the Republican primaries, with 1,191 delegates needed for their nomination.
Wisconsin Democrats will send 92 delegates to their national convention in Denver later in the year. Republicans have 40 delegates at stake in the primary.
Democrats have local caucuses to decide on who is sent to a Congressional district caucus, which in turn decides who is sent to the national convention, according to Strauch-Nelson.
Delegates are typically over 18 years old by the Wisconsin primary and are Wisconsin residents.
Strauch-Nelson said the majority of Democratic delegates a candidate would receive are based on how they proportionally do in a Congressional district.
Kirsten Kukowski, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Republican delegates are given in a ""winner-take-all"" fashion. A candidate that wins in a Congressional district receives three delegates, with three available in each of the eight districts.
Kukowski said 13 Republican delegates are at large and go to the winner of the state.
Both parties have a set amount of delegates that can vote any way they want, called ""super delegates"" by Democrats. These include Gov. Jim Doyle, Wisconsin's two Democratic Senators, Democrats in Congress and several party leaders, Strauch-Nelson said.
DPW Chair Joe Wineke had endorsed former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., as did U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wis., before Edwards exited the race. Gov. Jim Doyle endorsed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in early January.
Republicans have three delegates that can vote any way, although one has endorsed former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney. RPW Chair Reince Priebus and the other unpledged delegate have said they would wait till after the state primary to endorse, according to Kukowski.
Strauch-Nelson said it was possible for a candidate to win the Wisconsin primary statewide, but receive fewer delegates depending on how they performed in Congressional districts. She said it was unlikely this would happen unless the race was close in the state.
