U.S. Rep. John Lewis refused to say Saturday if he plans to vote for Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's national convention in August.

Lewis (D-Ga.) was in Atlanta for a news conference at City Hall for the an announcement concerning the creation of the Ralph David Abernathy Center for Civil Rights History and Wax Museum. Lewis, himself an icon of the civil rights movement, said he was there only to remember his friend Abernathy and said "I'm not going to make any political statements today."

Lewis caused an uproar in Democratic presidential politics on Thursday when he apparently told a New York Times reporter that he would cast his ballot at the convention for Obama, rather than Hillary Clinton, whom he has endorsed.

Lewis' office on Friday told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Times' story was "inaccurate," but refused to give any other details and has not responded to requests for clarification. Jeff Zeleny, the reporter for the Times who wrote the original story, told the AJC on Friday that Lewis was clear in his support for Obama.

Lewis is one of 13 so-called superdelegates from Georgia, those party leaders and elected officials who can cast a delegate's ballot at the national convention for any candidate, regardless of the outcome of the vote in his state or district. Georgia, and Lewis' 5th District, overwhelmingly backed Obama in the Feb. 5 Democratic presidential primary.

The issue is important as the race between Obama and Clinton is exceedingly close, and each delegate vote could be crucial. But it's also important because Lewis is one of the most sought-after endorsements in Congress because of his legacy as a leader of the civil rights movement and his decades of work in Congress.