Supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are once again ardently courting Iowa Democratic activists as they vie for the support of delegates pledged to departed rival John Edwards.

Edwards finished second in the state's leadoff precinct caucuses on Jan. 3, but those caucuses are only the first step in a complicated process of picking the state's 45 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August.

The next step in that process are the conventions held Saturday in each of the state's 99 counties, where 13,000 activists gathered to elect delegates to congressional district and state conventions.

The epic presidential race between Clinton and Obama has been reshaped since Iowa's caucuses, but is no less intense with every delegate carrying weight.

"Every single one counts and that's why we've been here organizing," said Teresa Vilmain, a field organizer for Clinton.

"We've filled all of our slots," said Gordon Fischer, a former Iowa Democratic chairman who is organizing for Obama.

Obama won the state's precinct caucuses with 39 percent of the vote, with Edwards narrowly edging Clinton to finish second. State Democratic Party officials projected those results would yield Obama 16 delegates, Clinton 15 and Edwards 14. Though Edwards finished second, Clinton got the extra delegate because of her strong showing in congressional districts with additional weighting.