Civil rights icon and Democratic Party elder John Lewis Wednesday defected from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama, in a hugely symbolic blow to the former first lady’s White House campaign.

The 68-year-old Democratic "superdelegate" made his decision after a period of public agonizing, but said he wanted to be on the side of history.

"John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the civil rights movement, and I am deeply honored to have his support," Obama said in a statement.

The veteran Georgia congressman is one of the 795 party luminaries and lawmakers who can vote how they like at the party convention and may have a vital say in sealing the presidential nomination.

Buoyed by his wins in 11 nominating contests in a row, Obama has eroded Clinton’s lead in the superdelegate count heading into pivotal nominating contests on Tuesday in Texas and Ohio.

"Something is happening in America," Lewis said.

"There is a movement, there is a spirit, there is an enthusiasm in the hearts and minds of the American people that I have not seen in a long time, since the (1968) candidacy of Robert Kennedy," he said.

"The people are pressing for a new day in American politics, and I think they see Senator Barack Obama as a symbol of that change."

Lewis said he had a "deep and abiding love" for Clinton and her husband, ex-president Bill Clinton, and said the New York senator was a "brilliant and capable candidate."

He said he had tried and so far failed to talk to Clinton about his decision to defect, which he said was partly motivated by Obama’s landslide in his district in the Georgia primary on February 5.

"I want to be on the side of the people, on the side of the spirit of history," he said.

Speaking on a Houston television station, Clinton said Lewis had been under "tremendous pressure" over his choice, "but he’s been my friend and he will always be my friend."

She said the ultimate outcome depended not on endorsements but "what our positions are, what our experience and qualifications are, and I think that’s what voters are going to decide."

Lewis was a follower of Martin Luther King Jr., and organized one of the first lunch-counter sit-ins in Tennessee. He was later badly beaten during a 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Alabama.

In mid-January, Lewis alleged "a deliberate, systematic attempt on the part of some people in the Obama camp to really fan the flame of race" after remarks by Clinton were interpreted as a slight on King’s legacy.

Source: AFP