BY Laura Barron, NBC17
RALEIGH, N.C. – The battle for the Democratic nomination for president could go all the way to the national convention, and come down to the superdelegates.

But who are these mysterious influencers? Superdelegates are made up of governors, Senators, House members and other party officials or members. They don’t have to choose a candidate until the convention.A spokesperson for the North Carolina Democratic Headquarters explained superdelegates are chosen by virtue of the position they hold or they can be a normal person appointed by the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

If no majority of delegates is won, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will likely focus on trying to win over the superdelegates to gain the party nomination.

There are currently 17 superdelegates in North Carolina and two more to be added in June, according to the NC Democratic Headquarters. They include party leaders like Gov. Mike Easley, Congressman Bob Etheridge and State Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek — who all might have to make a difficult decision.

“None of us want to have to actually cast this vote,” Meek said. ”To that extent, it would be better if somebody already locked up the nomination.”

Democratic National Committee member Everett Ward, who also works for the Department of Transportation, has already endorsed Barack Obama.

“As a superdelegate, I know we will have to make the decision that’s in the best interest of our party and the best interest in the country,” Ward said.

Meek, who is currently uncommitted, says there is pressure to go with the popular vote regardless of personal feelings. He said he is already getting e-mails from voters suggesting whom he should choose.

“I think a lot of the superdelegates are gonna factor in how their home state votes as well as how the national popular vote goes,” Meek said.

NC State Professor of Political Science Andy Taylor said the hands of many superdelegates might already be tied.

“What if you’re a superdelegate from North Carolina and let’s say Senator Obama wins North Carolina, are you prepared to go to the convention and say, ‘the Democrats in my state were wrong? Really the nominee should be Mrs. Clinton’?” Taylor said.

Superdelegates were established in the early 1980s by a commission led by former governor Jim Hunt, so party leaders could play more of a role in the process. Since then, the decision hasn’t come down to them, but this could be the year it happens, Taylor said.

“So it would be very interesting for us to go back to the old days of brokered conventions of wheeling and dealing of votes on the convention floor. If we get that far, it will be a throwback to the pre-1970s,” Taylor said.