Michigan To Have a Do Over Primary

The Democratic National Committee and Michigan Democratic Party have agreed to allow Michigan to hold a "contest" that will allow it to have delegates seated at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August. It will be run by the party without government assistance, like a caucus, but will be structured like a primary election. The exact details of the agreement remain hazy.

This is a boost to Hillary Clinton, who won the beauty contest primary held in January, in which no candidates campaigned, and Clinton was the only major candidate on the ballot, which the DNC told the Michigan Democratic Party it would not honor because it was scheduled at a date earlier than allowed by Democratic National Committee rules. But, Obama will receive the benefit of having other candidates out of the race at this point and of the momentum his campaign has accumulated since January.

This leaves the disqualification of Florida's delegation, because its primary was held too soon, as the main unresolved procedural question going into the convention, something that also hurts Clinton who finished in first place there as well.