The story

A Hillary Clinton backer's defection to the Barack Obama camp tightens the race for superdelegates, who could determine which candidate will become the Democratic presidential nominee.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew, who was appointed to the post in 1999 by President Bill Clinton, said Friday that it was time for the party to line up behind the senator from Illinois so he can "get about the business of taking on John McCain and make sure we have a Democrat who wins in the fall."

"The only thing that matters is the delegate count. It's just mathematically impossible for Hillary Clinton to pick up enough delegates to be ahead of Barack Obama at the end of this process as well," Andrews said Friday. Read full article »

CNN associate political editor Rebecca Sinderbrand and CNN producer Ed Hornick contributed to this report.

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