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Barack Obama picked up endorsements Friday from a California congressman and two former John Edwards delegates from South Carolina as he closes in on the Democratic presidential nomination. He also added three delegates from updated results in last week's North Carolina primary.
Obama has added nine of the 19 delegates Edwards won before he dropped out of the race.
"He's inspired millions of young people to register to vote and join the ranks of our Democratic Party, he's consistently opposed the war, he advocates universal health care, and he delivers a message that transcends party politics at the same time," Rep. Pete Stark of California said in a statement announcing his support for Obama.
The North Carolina Board of Elections has been reporting incomplete congressional district results on its Web site for more than a week. But with those delegates to be selected this weekend, the board provided more updated results to the state Democratic party.
The Associated Press had withheld two North Carolina delegates because of the incomplete results. Hillary Rodham Clinton lost a delegate based on the updated results, but she picked up a California superdelegate who made his choice public Friday after privately endorsing Clinton months ago.
Keith Umemoto of Sacramento told the AP Friday that he has endorsed Clinton.
Meanwhile, California Sen. Barbara Boxer has long held plans to cast her vote for Clinton as a superdelegate, Boxer's spokeswoman, Natalie Ravitz, said Friday.
Boxer has not endorsed either candidate in the Democratic contest but has said for months that she intended to follow the will of California voters, who favored Clinton over Obama during the state's Feb. 5 presidential primary.
"What is of paramount importance to Senator Boxer is that Democrats be united around a candidate at the convention," Ravitz told The Associated Press. "She truly believes that this will all be resolved and that we will be unified at the convention."
That gave Clinton a net increase of one delegate for the day.