So what are Superdelegates and how could they affect the primary?

With the Democratic race still in a virtual tie and the GOP primary pretty much settled, there's been a lot of talk of Superdelegates and what they could mean for the race. So first thing to answer, what is a Superdelegate?

According to the DNC's Delegate Selection Rules, these folks aren't called Superdelegates, but rather party leaders and elected official delegates. And they consist of:

• The individuals recognized as members of the DNC (as set forth in Article Three, Sections 2 and 3 of the Charter of the Democratic Party of the United States);
• The Democratic President and the Democratic Vice President of the United States, if applicable;
• All Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives and all Democratic members of the United States Senate;
• The Democratic Governor, if applicable;
• All former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee.

Now on to why they're suddenly the talk of the town. Paul Kane of the Washington Post says it best:

but it is now basically mathematically impossible for either Clinton or Obama to win the nomination through the regular voting process (meaning the super-delegates decide this one, baby!).

Here's the math. There are 3,253 pledged delegates, those doled out based on actual voting in primaries and caucuses. And you need 2,025 to win the nomination.

To date, about 55% of those 3,253 delegates have been pledged in the voting process -- with Clinton and Obamb roughly splitting them at about 900 delegates a piece.

That means there are now only about 1,400 delegates left up for grabs in the remaining states and territories voting.

So, do the math. If they both have about 900 pledged delegates so far, they need to win more than 1,100 of the remaining 1,400 delegates to win the nomination through actual voting.

Ain't gonna happen, barring a stunning scandal or some new crazy revelation. So, they'll keep fighting this thing out, each accumulating their chunk of delegates, one of them holding a slight edge and bothing finishing the voting process with 1,600 or so delegates.

And then the super delegates decide this thing.

That's the math.

Superdelegates = Important.

And some of these folks have already endorsed, but there are a great deal who are still undeclared. Those are very likely the folks who will be choosing the Democratic nominee. It's important to note that they are not legally bound to support any specific candidate and some will likely vote the way their constituents did. Again, they are not required to do so. Meaning at this point, it's still anyone's game.