WASHINGTON — Leading Democrats scrambled Wednesday to prevent the closest, most riveting presidential contest in decades from tearing the party apart, as the odds rose that neither Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Barack Obama could clinch the nomination without angering large blocs of voters.
Anxiety within the party swelled after Clinton's victories Tuesday staved off elimination and gave her fresh momentum, yet did little to eat into Obama's lead among delegates -- the people who will formally pick the nominee at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Clinton trails Obama by 105 delegates after netting about a dozen more than he did Tuesday, Associated Press totals show. To make up the gap, the Clinton campaign has pushed to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida -- two states sidelined for violating party rules. Obama did not campaign in either state, though an ad of his aired in Florida. He was not on the ballot in Michigan.
The Michigan Democratic Party said it was in negotiations with its counterpart in Florida, with the Clinton and Obama campaigns, and with the national party over the seating of delegates from the two states.
Democratic members of the Florida and Michigan congressional delegations met on Capitol Hill on Wednesday evening to discuss how to proceed, amid concerns that constituencies such as black voters could be alienated if a solution wasn't reached.
Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla.), before heading into the session, said: "Every day that goes by, the harder this process is going to get as it relates to Florida and Michigan. . . . That's one of the reasons we're meeting."
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is drafting a letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean asking him to seat the Florida delegates or to open the party's coffers to pay for another election.
Dan McLaughlin, a Nelson spokesman, said it was vital that two of the largest states in the country had a voice in the selection. "Before a final decision can be made on a nominee by the Democratic Party, you have to hear from the people in those two big states," he said.
Frustrated by the impasse, two prominent Clinton supporters said the only fair resolution might be to place both Clinton and Obama on the ticket, though one would have to renounce presidential ambitions and stand for vice president. Thus far, neither has shown any interest in the No. 2 job.
