The familiar word superdelegate usually refers to Democratic Party leaders and elected officials with automatic convention status. Democratic rules have changed across cycles, including rules limiting when automatic delegates may affect the opening presidential ballot. The durable lesson is modest: read the rules for the party and cycle named in the question instead of memorizing one convention's arrangement as permanent.

Republican conventions also include delegates who attend because of party office, but their voting obligations can differ under national rules, state-party rules, or state law. Calling every automatic delegate an unpledged free agent therefore creates an error. Automatic describes the route to delegate status; bound, pledged, or eligible to vote describes a separate rule.

Endorsement adds another layer. An automatic delegate who publicly supports a candidate may help that campaign attract donors, activists, staff, and favorable coverage. Those political effects can occur before any formal ballot. A news article may list the endorsement beside a pledged-delegate estimate, but the two numbers do not arise in the same way: one reports announced support from a person; the other reports positions awarded under contest rules.

Use three questions whenever the label appears. First, why does the person have delegate status? Second, what does the current rule permit or require on the ballot at issue? Third, is the source reporting an endorsement, an eligible convention vote, or both? This approach is easier and more accurate than treating "superdelegate" as a constitutional office or assuming that Democratic and Republican systems mirror one another.

Video lesson: Political Campaigns: Crash Course Government and Politics #39