Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., told the Associated Press today that he has no intention of endorsing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois. And Democratic officials do not expect Boren to be the last to refrain from making a show of not backing his party's presumptive presidential nominee -- though Boren says he will vote for Obama for president in November.
Other House Democrats from swing districts -- Democrats who eked out victories in traditionally GOP districts, whom House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., calls her "majority makers" -- may refrain from even attending their party's convention in Denver in August.
Boren noted that Obama had earned the National Journal's controversial rating as "Most Liberal" U.S. Senator in 2007, and saying though he talks a good game on working with Republicans, "unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion."
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-Illinois, won Boren's congressional district with 66% of the vote during the Oklahoma primary in February. "Our nominee is not my first choice," Boren says. He adds, "We're much more conservative. I've got to reflect my district. No one means more to me than the people who elected me. I have to listen them." |