If you re wondering about what s happening with the Democrats, here the lowdown. What s helping Hillary win the nomination in 2016 is exactly what helped Barack Obama beat Hillary for the nomination in 2008. Ironic, huh? The Democrats are pretty worried about what will happen at the convention when you have a fired up and pissed off group of rabid Bernie fans in one place. Riot anyone? Yes, the Dem convention could turn out to be a RIOT Hillary Clinton is not winning because of a conspiracy or wrinkle in the time-space continuum. Rather, she benefits from the rules Democrats play by. Bernie Sanders is on a roll. He s won the last two Democratic primaries and stands a good chance Tuesday of adding Oregon and perhaps Kentucky to his pile of victories.Yet Hillary Clinton is likely to continue her seemingly unstoppable march to the party s presidential nomination.How can that be?It s not a conspiracy, as some angry Sanders backers suggest, a result of dark magic or a wrinkle in the time-space continuum. Rather, it s the rules that Democrats play by   rules that now work to Clinton s advantage, even as they thwarted her candidacy eight years ago, when she lost a nominating fight to then-Sen. Barack Obama. Where do things stand in the Democratic race?It takes 2,383 delegates to win the nomination at the party s national convention this summer in Philadelphia. Entering Tuesday s contests, former Secretary of State Clinton has 2,240 delegates to Vermont Sen. Sanders  1,473.Who s won the most votes?Clinton also leads Sanders in that category. She has received more than 12.5 million votes, compared with 9.4 million for Sanders. That s a lead of more than 3 million votes, according to calculations by the website Real Clear Politics.Hillary Clinton is not winning because of a conspiracy or wrinkle in the time-space continuum. Rather, she benefits from the rules Democrats play by. With 10 contests left, is it possible for Sanders to overtake Clinton in the delegate count to win the nomination?It is theoretically possible, just as it is theoretically possible to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than two hours  provided you go 200 mph the entire way.Come again?Sanders must win close to 90% of remaining delegates to overtake Clinton. It s mathematically possible, but not realistic, given that Democrats award delegates on a proportional, rather than winner-take-all, basis. So even when a candidate   in this case Clinton   loses a contest, she won t walk away empty-handed.How does that work?Take last week s West Virginia primary. Sanders clobbered Clinton, 51% to 36%. But when delegates were divvied up, Sanders won 18 and Clinton 11. Adding in superdelegates, the results were much closer: Sanders walked away with 19 delegates and Clinton claimed 18. That means Sanders  landslide victory cut into Clinton s overall delegate lead by precisely one.What makes someone a superdelegate?They re not faster than a speeding bullet or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Superdelegates are those who automatically get a seat at the Philadelphia convention and have the liberty to vote for whomever they please. The overwhelming majority are supporting Clinton.Who gets to be a superdelegate?Superdelegates are elected officials and other party leaders and activists. They include sitting Democratic governors and members of Congress, past presidents and vice presidents and former chairmen of the Democratic National Committee.Why does the party have superdelegates?Because Democrats have two competing impulses. On the one hand, they fancy their party a model of inclusiveness and egalitarianism. On the other, they want to win elections.What does that have to do with superdelegates?After the party was torn asunder by the Vietnam War   some Democrats believing Vice President Hubert Humphrey had been forced down their throats as the 1968 nominee   leaders changed the nominating system to give more say to voters at the grass-roots level. But after the landslide defeat of George McGovern in 1972 and Jimmy Carter in 1980, the feeling was some recalibration was needed, leavening the will of the people with the presumed wisdom of political insiders. Hence the birth of superdelegates.How many superdelegates are there versus plain old garden-variety delegates?About 15% of Democrats are free to back whomever they wish. Clinton leads Sanders among superdelegates 524 to 40.If you subtracted superdelegates, would Sanders overtake Clinton in the delegate count?No. She would still be ahead, 1,716 to 1,433.Read more: LA Times