Yarmuth praises Chandler, says Obama could win '40 states'

John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) at Chandler's endorsement announcement

LOUISVILLE -- Congressman and Barack Obama supporter John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) told PolitickerKY.com today that he spoke with his fellow Congressman Ben Chandler (D-Versailles) upwards of "twenty-five" times about Chandler's superdelegate role prior to Chandler's endorsement of Obama today.

"We've had conversations going back to last fall. We had probably twenty or twenty-five conversations about this. And I know this was a much tougher decision for him then it was for me. I think it took a little more courage than mine did, so I am very proud of him," said Yarmuth.

Chandler represents Kentucky's 6th Congressional District, where recent polling shows respondents favor Senator Hillary Clinton over Obama 53 to 25 percent. In Yarmuth's 3rd District, Obama only trails Clinton 45 to 40 percent.

When asked what was discussed in their conversations on endorsements, Yarmuth indicated they partially focused on governability in a divided Congress.

"Part of what I was concerned about and, I think [Chandler] is, too - is who can govern best. We have to work in a Congress that is basically split fifty-fifty right now. If you are looking at the choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as a President, who is going to make governing in congress easier?" said Yarmuth. "That is one of the things I think he considered as well and one of the things that I think most voters wouldn't necessarily be concerned about. But this is something we are very concerned about. Barack Obama - and I think ben believes this to - has the unique ability to transcend the fifty-fifty environment we are in to develop a personal mandate that will enable him to govern more broadly."

Chandler now joins Yarmuth as the only of Kentucky's eight superdelegates to publicly support Senator Obama. Three of the Commonwealth's superdelegates have endorsed Senator Clinton, while Chandler leaves the ranks of the Kentucky uncommitted to Governor Steve Beshear (D-Lexington), Kentucky Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Moore, and state Vice Chair Nathan Smith.

Congressman Yarmuth has come under some criticism for his public support of Senator Obama from Clinton supporter and state Representative Thomas Burch. Today, the freshman Congressman said he did not think the divisive Democratic primary would hurt the ultimate Democratic nominee.

"People who are passionate enough to be angry about one or the other of us endorsing the other candidate are not going to sit at home," said Yarmuth. "They are going to rally behind the Democratic nominee. If they care that much, they don't want to see John Mccain as president."

Despite the poll numbers, Yarmuth also argued that a hypothetical general election match-up between presumptive GOP nominee Senator John McCain and Obama would not necessarily mean Obama would lose states below the Mason-Dixon line, like Kentucky, despite recent poll numbers.

"There is an outside chance he could win Kentucky. I am not ready to write it off," said Yarmuth. "On every generic poll when you talk about issues, and who the American people and the people in Kentucky favor - they favor the Democratic position on all these issues. Once it becomes one-on-one with John McCain, I think Barack Obama is going to carry 40 states. I think it's not going to be a close election. John McCain is a fatally flawed candidate who is on the wrong side of every important issue."

ALSO on PolitickerKY.com: 

• Chandler endorses Obama: ‘I want to be on the right side of history'