WASHINGTON — New Hampshire and Iowa will have to wait.

The nation’s first presidential primary, for Democrats anyway, is being waged among hundreds of party insiders — superdelegates who could play a big part in selecting the nominee at next summer’s national convention.

So far, most of them still haven’t been sold on any of the candidates.

The Associated Press contacted 90% of the 765 superdelegates, mostly elected officials and other party officers, who are free to support anyone they choose at the convention, regardless of what happens in the primaries.

Senator Clinton leads Senator Obama by more than a 2-1 margin among those who have endorsed a candidate. But a little more than half of those contacted — 365 — said they haven’t settled on a Democratic standard bearer.

“The fact that under half have publicly committed shows me how open the Democratic race still is,” a Democratic consultant who is not affiliated with any campaign, ]Jenny Backus, said. “It’s a sign that the race isn’t totally done in many people’s minds.”

Mrs. Clinton has the endorsement of 169 superdelegates. She is followed by Mr. Obama, 63; John Edwards, 34; Governor Richardson, 25; Senator Dodd, 17; Senator Biden, 8, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, 2.

Superdelegates tend to support the front-runner, a political scientist at Duke University, David Rohde, said. “They want to be on the winning side,” he said.

So why don’t more of them back Mrs. Clinton, who leads in national polls?

“They are still concerned about her ability to win the general election,” Mr. Rohde said.

He said Mrs. Clinton’s high negative numbers among likely voters have many party insiders skittish. However, he added, if Mrs. Clinton sweeps the early voting in Iowa and New Hampshire, “these people will flock to her.”

On the other hand, a spokeswoman for Mr. Obama expressed confidence he would pick up superdelegates after doing well in early voting states. “We are pleased with our current support in the DNC and know that as the states go, so will superdelegates,” Jen Psaki said.

Superdelegates are the ultimate party insiders, including all Democratic members of Congress, as well as a number of other elected officials and members of the Democratic National Committee. They will attend the convention next summer with about 3,200 other delegates who have been pledged to various presidential candidates based on the outcomes of primaries and party caucuses in their states.

Democratic candidates need a little more than 2,000 delegates to claim the nomination. That can make the superdelegates, who will number about 800 after state parties select a few more this summer, important players in choosing a nominee.