LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The governors of Michigan and Florida are saying it's increasingly important that Democratic and Republican delegates from the two states be seated.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday in a joint release it's "reprehensible" the voices of 5.2 million people who voted in the two primaries would be silenced.

"It is intolerable that the national political parties have denied the citizens of Michigan and Florida their votes and voices at their respective national conventions," they said.

Both states had their Democratic delegates stripped by the Democratic National Committee for moving up their primaries against party rules. The Republican National Committee stripped Michigan of half its 60 national convention delegates, although state Republicans recently picked the full complement of delegates. Republicans are not calling for another election.

DNC officials have suggested to both Michigan and Florida that holding another presidential contest of some kind would be one way to get the Democratic delegates seated. Both states say caucuses would be very expensive to run.

The two states also could appeal this summer to the DNC Credentials Committee to get their delegates seated.

"We've said all along that we hope there will be a resolution," DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said in response to the governors' statement.

Although John McCain wrapped up the Republican nomination Tuesday, the stakes over whether the Democratic delegates are seated have grown increasingly high. With only about 100 delegates and superdelegates separating Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the nomination could end up being decided at the convention. Clinton won both the Michigan and the Florida primaries.

Granholm, who supports Clinton, said a week and a half ago on CBS' "Face the Nation" that she expected the question of whether to seat Democratic delegates from Michigan and Florida would be resolved before the August convention. She told the Detroit Free Press that Clinton's Tuesday victories in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island could open the door to a Michigan caucus.

"The governor wants our delegates seated. And by what method they're seated remains unclear," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said Wednesday.

But with a caucus expected to benefit Obama and the prospect of 1 million people trying to attend caucuses, there are plenty who say a caucus won't happen. The party could hold a state convention, but only a few thousand people traditionally attend those. The Democratic primary drew 594,398 voters. Obama had pulled his name from the ballot, so most of his supporters voted for Uncommitted.

It's becoming less likely that either Clinton or Obama will have enough of a lead to get the Michigan and Florida delegates seated after clearing the field of rivals.

Michigan Rep. Dale Kildee of Flint said Clinton's victories Tuesday changes the dynamic of the campaign, but he was unsure whether another election should be held as a way of seating the delegates.

"We want to make sure that we are seated. That's our biggest goal right now — make sure we're seated," said Kildee, who supports Clinton.

Michigan has 128 pledged delegates and 28 unpledged delegates waiting to hear from the DNC if they'll be seated. The state also has 21 pledged alternates and 18 committee members who hope to attend the Aug. 25-28 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Detroit, a Democrat who pushed for the Jan. 15 primary, said he doesn't see how a caucus could be held so the Michigan Democratic delegates can get seated.

"I don't see a practical way to hold a caucus in Michigan," Levin said last month. "Given that 600,000 Michigan voters participated in a primary that was held in accordance with Michigan law, it seems to me that it would not be practical or fair to throw out the results of that election."

Clinton's Michigan co-chairman, superdelegate Joel Ferguson, called a caucus "a step backward."

He said a primary election — so long as it is funded from outside sources, preferably the DNC — could be an option he'd support. The DNC has not offered to pay for a primary or caucus in Michigan.

Ferguson said he disagrees with the delegates being banned by DNC officials.

"The sentence they gave Michigan did not fit the crime," Ferguson said.

Rick Wiener, a Michigan superdelegate who's not committed to either candidates, said he doesn't know what the next step should be.

"The DNC created this situation," he said. "It's in their hands to solve it."

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Associated Press reporters Tim Martin in Lansing and Ken Thomas in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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EDITOR's NOTE: Kathy Barks Hoffman heads the Lansing AP bureau and has covered Michigan politics since 1986.