PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - With Oregon's May 20 primary fast approaching, the state's voters are being heavily courted by both contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination.

For nine voters, though, the courtship has been especially intense. Think private breakfast meetings with Barack Obama, and facetime with former President Bill Clinton. It's all par for the course these days for Oregon's undeclared superdelegates, party officials and politicians who can vote for whomever they choose at the August convention in Denver.

In a survey of the nine conducted by The Associated Press, Oregon superdelegates were asked to shed some light on their thought process for choosing a candidate, their opinion on whether the superdelegates should meet to decide between Obama and Hillary Clinton before the convention, if necessary, and about which candidates had contacted them directly.

Only one of the undeclared superdelegates - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, the biggest name who has yet to line up behind a candidate - refused through a spokesman to answer The AP's questions. Wyden has allowed his chief of staff to serve as the chair of the Clinton campaign in Oregon, suggesting at least a tacit endorsement of her candidacy.

The rest told The AP that while they were weighing several factors in their decision about whom to support, including who wins the Oregon primary, and who emerges with the edge in primary votes nationwide, choosing the candidate with the best chances of winning in November would carry particular weight.

"I think it is really important that we keep our eyes on the prize, and the prize is the win in November," said Gail Rasmussen, a superdelegate from Medford who is vice president of the Oregon Education Association.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, who next to Wyden is the state's most coveted endorsement right now, said it was "imperative that Democrats have the strongest nominee possible."

He also said his decision will likely be informed by results of the state's primary, though he would not rule out making an endorsement before May 20.

Like Rasmussen, all the other Democratic National Committee members have said they will hold off on making an endorsement until after the state's primary. Only three elected superdelegates have so far made an endorsement - Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Rep. Darlene Hooley are campaigning for Clinton, while Rep. Earl Blumenauer has sided with Obama.

Four elected officials - Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, U.S. Rep. David Wu, DeFazio and Wyden - have remained tightlipped about their choices.

Bradbury told The AP that he's leaning toward a formal mechanism for superdelegates to decide the nomination before the convention, but only after all the states have held their primaries and caucuses. The final contests are on June 3, in Montana and South Dakota.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has been pushing for a two-day superdelegate primary for June after the last voter primary, in hopes that the party can pick its nominee early and avoid a bitter summer fight between Obama and Clinton.

Others in Oregon sound less convinced about the wisdom of that idea. Jenny Greenleaf, another Democratic National Committee member, said she opposed Bredesen's idea, saying that "automatic delegates are just delegates to the convention. To separate them is elitist, and not conducive to party unity."

Meredith Wood Smith, the chair of the state Democratic Party, agreed, saying, "That way, all the focus would be on the automatic delegates."

All the superdelegates have been in contact with the two campaigns and their surrogates, though all were careful to note that they'd been promised nothing - though Democratic National Committee delegate Wayne Kinney of Bend, a diehard Red Sox fan, joked that he was holding out to become "commissioner of baseball."

"Nobody has promised me anything," Greenleaf said. "A lot of times, the Clinton campaign folks will call to ask for my feedback."

Earlier this month, Obama did pick up an important Oregon supporter in former Gov. Barbara Roberts, who will serve as the party chair's delegate at the Denver convention, allowing her to vote for any candidate she pleases.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)