HARRISONBURG, Va. — Supporters of Ted Cruz dominated a slate of delegates that Virginia Republicans chose Saturday at their state convention, further demonstrating the Texas senator’s mastery of the delegate-selection process.
Of the 13 national delegates picked by party activists here, 10 are Cruz supporters and three support Donald Trump. The tally represents the biggest chunk up for grabs of the 49 total delegates who will represent the state at the national convention in Cleveland this summer.
Despite bruising primary losses around the country, Cruz is betting that Trump will not make it to the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the party’s nomination, and he is working to woo delegates who would be loyal to him at a brokered convention.
Cruz came in a distant third in Virginia in the March 1 primary but had enough supporters among the 2,610 party activists who filled an arena at James Madison University on Saturday to win critical delegates.
WTF? How many delegates is Virginia sending to the national convention? I don’t understand the breakdown. I thought Virginia was a winner-take-all state.
Apparently the Trump people are most unhappy over this state of affairs as illustrated by Corey Stewart’s condemnation of the process:
Trump doesn’t see it that way. His campaign team wanted a slate that reflected the primary outcome, but not enough activists agreed.
“Mr. Trump just wants a fair allocation of delegates. We won the state handily over Senator Cruz,” Trump senior adviser Ed Brookover said before the final vote.
Earlier in the day, Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Trump campaign in Virginia, lashed out at the state GOP for leaving him off the slate.
He said the party bowed to the will of Jim Beamer, chief lobbyist for Dominion and a member of the nominations committee. Stewart has tangled with the utility giant over environmental issues in Prince William County, where he is chairman of the Board of County Supervisors.
“What this shows is RPV is a big rotten, corrupt organization that has been bought off by Dominion Virginia Power,” Stewart told The Washington Post.
Let me first remind all that I am no Trump supporter, nor am I a Cruz supporter. However, Trump won the primary in Virginia back at the beginning of March. So why is Cruz getting the delegates?
I absolutely do not understand the process or what’s going on. No wonder Corey is outraged. The RPV seems to be Democracy at its worse from a surface appearance or actually, not a democracy at all.
Can someone please explain to me what is happening? I am fairly immersed in political chicanery. This makes no sense to me at all. If it makes no sense to me, how must it look to the general population in Virginia?
Additional Reading: Pilotonline.com
Don’t ask me. This makes no sense whatsoever. Why have a state vote if the party ignores the results? Have to admit, I like seeing Corey pissed off, haha!
I think you definitely got your wish!
First, Virginia is not “winner take all”. There are delegates won by congressional district, and statewide. Winning the primary statewide or in individual congressional districts on binds a delegate to vote for a candidate on a first ballot. If Trump fails to secure enough awarded delegates to ensure a first ballot win (1237+), then there is the potential for a 2nd ballot. This is Cruz’s strategy: Keep Trump from reaching 1237, to force a 2nd ballot. If there is a 2nd round, 3rd round, etc., ensure those delegates would vote for you.
The problem with presidential primaries is people have no idea what the primary is supposed to accomplish…and apparently this includes the Trump campaign staff. Presidential primaries are a relatively recent development. Delegates have always been elected at conventions. A party can decide not to have a presidential primary, as Colorado did, but they cannot forgo conventions.
I was a delegate to the RPV state state convention where we elected our party chairman, our 2 members of the RNC, and the slate of statewide delegates to the national convention. Two weeks ago, there was a 10th district convention, and congressional district delegates to the national convention were elected. Nothing new here. What’s new is the slim possibility of a 2nd ballot.
It is the same on the Democrat side, with one exception. The GOP does not have “super delegates”. Explain how THIS is a fair process.
Still, while Cruz’s superior knowledge of how the process works is interesting to watch, both in the eyes of the clueless press, and those who previously had better things to do than to ever attend a convention, I don’t think this strategy will ultimately succeed. If Trump doesn’t put it away in Indiana, then he will in California. There won’t be a 2nd ballot in Cleveland. The last time there was a contested RNC convention was 1976. This is like an onside kick in football. Exciting to watch. Rarely successful.
Far be it from me to tell the R’s how to select their delegate. Thanks for attempting an explanation. I am still scratching my head over it. So you are telling me you were there this weekend in Harrisonburg?
Why do we have primaries? It is incredibly expensive. If the delegates are actually selected at the convention level, I just see no point in going through all the motions.
Are you going to the national convention? I hardly think my ignorance on this subject is unique.
@MoonHowler
Yes, I was there in Harrisonburg,.at JMU.
Why have Primaries? They have their place. They are a demonstration of viability. Sort of a “pre-season” to demonstrate the likelihood of general election success. Messaging, raising money, etc. I will also say I dislike open primaries…but that’s a topic for another thread.
As far as the National convention goes, I could attend as a “paid guest”, but I did not seek election as a National delegate at either the 10th or RPV conventions. I’ll be watching/listening on C-SPAN, like everyone else.
I think primaries ought to count or not exist. They are expensive–too expensive to be used as an indicator.
I think if open primaries are held the same day and what happens during them really doesn’t count, what’s not to like. Virginia has long tradition of open primaries. If you want to control who votes in pre-elections, stick with convention or other events not open to the general public.
I never want to have to register as belonging to a party. In fact, I think its probably time for the existing parties to fold and regroup. I would not be opposed to a 3 party system. I think it is needed. (Rick Bentley is rolling over in his grave)
A few more thoughts on your top-post. You use the word “democracy” several times. This implies an open process from top to bottom, where the general electorate should have their will at each step. We have a republican form of government, where we elect representatives to conduct business on our behalf. Parties are private organizations, which have modeled themselves on a republican system of operation and governance, and BOTH parties observe a similar process for selecting their nominees.
As far as Corey’s outrage goes, take it with a grain of salt. Corey is no stranger to the convention process, having been both successful and unsuccessful in securing his party’s nomination at a convention. He knows how the process works, and what constitutes a successful campaign strategy. As the VA chairman of the Trump campaign, it’s his ultimate responsibility to ensure Trump supporters attend the convention in greater numbers than non-supporters, that they understand how a convention works, and why it’s important to stay until the desired outcome has been achieved. Corey got outworked by the Cruz camp.
That sure doesn’t bode well for his bid for governor in 2017, if he got cruzed.
I directed my post at Republicans because they just met. I have no idea when the Democrats meet. They might be gouging each other also…in fact, I can count on it. Republicans are also just more fun to watch, especially Corey.
I can sure think of a couple people who will be delighted to get him out of PWC so that the “fair-haired child” can try to snag his chairmanship. Then the puppet-master can start ruling the county.
@MoonHowler
AP has a story that Corey is running for VA Gov. Congressman Whitman is also considering a run, and Ed Gillespie has been running since November 2014. I think Corey is trying to “punch above his weight”. I’m guessing he’s counting on a Trump endorsement to help him overcome his lack of name recognition in other parts of the state. Another run at LG, maybe…but Governor? Well, he’ll get to experience another nominating convention.
Or, he could take a cabinet position in a Trump admin…a’la Sean Connaughton.
I saw that. How predictable. I think I will sit back and watch this one play out. Actually I agree with your assessment. I like your metaphor.
@MoonHowler
You could attend the convention on press/blogger credentials. Get a ground-level view of all the happenings…
Speaking of conventions and primaries, did you see DNC Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is speaking out in favor of closed primaries? Apparently, she and I agree that Republicans should nominate Republicans, and Democrats should nominate Democrats…who knew we’d actually agree on something?
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/278469-dnc-chairwoman-if-up-to-me-id-exclude-independents-from
The earth must be rotating backwards if you and Wasserman-Schultz agree on something. The last time I attended a state Republican convention I got beaten up. I went as a vendor, not as press. I actually would love to attend. I would want to bring a body guard though, just in case. This was 20 years ago, during the Oliver North nomination.
How do I get press credentials?