James E. ClyburnThe third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, South Carolina's James E. Clyburn, has endorsed Sen. Obama.

He is the first senior member of the House to officaly do so, the move predicts a flow of superdelegates to Obama throughout the day. This, paired with primaries from Montana and South Dakota has created an expectation of Obama to pass the 2,118 delegate threshold needed for the nomination.

The New York Times elaborates:
"I think that by 6 o’clock this evening there will be enough so-called super delegates endorsing that the 15 or so delegates we expect Senator Obama to get from Montana and South Dakota will allow him to say in Minnesota tonight that he is there," said Mr. Clyburn.

The leadership has withheld their choices for the most part, citing the need to remain publicly neutral until the primaries have been concluded. Mr. Clyburn said he has been in talks with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and expected her to make public comments on the election on Wednesday.

In April, Clyburn criticized the Clinton campaign's "bizarre" behavior.