raeclinton.jpgSome interns just want to be left alone so they can play Scrabulous.

Then there are interns like Jason Rae. In his time at the Victory Fund in the summer of 2006, he helped out in a variety of projects including conducting research on the history of groundbreaking openly LGBT officials as well as the percentage of Americans who are, in one form or another, represented by an openly gay elected official (for the record, it’s 22 percent).

Now, at 21, Rae is the nation’s youngest superdelegate. A junior at Marquette University, he has been courted by both Democratic candidates, including a breakfast with Chelsea Clinton and phone calls from both her parents. Obama’s camp has also been calling.

raeobama.jpg“They haven’t been pressing me in any sense,” he told CBS News. “They’ve just been talking to me like an average voter. The same thing that happens when candidates go to Iowa and New Hampshire and court votes there. It’s the same thing with superdelegates.”

Victory Fund vice president Denis Dison said Jason’s newfound celebrity (he’s already appeared on national television multiple times in the past 24 hours) helps draw attention to the power of electoral politics: “Jason’s work for the Victory Fund, and now his star turn as superdelegate, shows the gay community has a lot to offer in terms of political leadership. Who’d have thought a 21 year-old gay man would be at the center of the fight for the Democratic nomination?”

To see Rae and two other superdelegates talk about their experiences, click on the video below.

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