Michigan, Florida try to resolve primary standoff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in Michigan and Florida on Friday floated new plans to resolve the disputed state primaries that threaten to divide the party and its two presidential candidates well into the summer.

Several Michigan Democrats suggested re-staging their primary in early June while Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson proposed letting the results of his state's contest stand but only seating half of its delegates at the August convention.

Both plans aim to avoid a standoff that threatens to mar the convention and increase bitterness between candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The January votes in Michigan and Florida were deemed invalid by the national party because both states had moved their election dates forward in defiance of party rules.

Clinton, a New York senator, won both primaries, though Obama's name was not on the ballot in Michigan. Both candidates avoided campaigning in either state.

Clinton has called for seating the delegates from both contests, or staging the primaries again. Obama, an Illinois senator, has said he will work to find an agreeable solution, but opposes seating delegates from the unsanctioned contests.

A solution has become vital as the rivals scratch for delegates in their tight battle for the right to face Republican John McCain in November's election.

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin and other party leaders said on Friday they were trying to set up another primary in early June. The vote, which would not use state money, would require approval by the state legislature.

"We look forward to working with the members of the legislature in the coming days to see if this option can be made a reality," Levin said in a joint statement with Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, United Autoworkers union president Ron Gettelfinger and Debbie Dingell, a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Spokesmen for the Clinton and Obama campaigns said they would review details of the proposal carefully.

Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Nelson had suggested only seating half of Florida's 186 pledged delegates at the national convention.

Nelson on Wednesday had suggested staging a mail-in primary to replace the January 29 vote, but that proposal drew objections from the Obama campaign and the state's Democratic House of Representatives delegation.

Obama narrowly leads Clinton nationally in pledged delegates won in state nominating contests. Nelson's latest proposal would enable Clinton to close the gap, but both are almost certain to finish short of the 2,025 delegates needed for the nomination.

Finding an eventual winner could hinge on a resolution of the Florida and Michigan dispute, and on the decisions of the nearly 800 party officials and insiders, known as "superdelegates," who are free to back any candidate.

(Editing by Todd Eastham)

(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales From the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)