In a process being mirrored in delegate selection contests around the country, supporters of Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz today successfully elected delegates to the Republican National Convention who will support the Texas senator in the event that convention is contested.
Virginia will send 49 delegates to the National Convention, 33 of whom are elected at Congressional District party conventions held in each of Virginia’s 11 Congressional Districts. Today’s convention of 9th District Republicans was the first of the 11 contests, and Cruz picked up two of the three delegates elected.
The assembled delegates in Wytheville elected Cruz delegates Kyle Kilgore and Jordan Labiosa, and also elected Tucker Davis, a Trump campaign staffer. The next three highest vote recipients were elected as alternate delegates, and they include Robert Taconet (Cruz), and Flux and Tamara Neo (both Trump).
Weighted vote totals for National Delegate candidates at the 9th District Convention (IMAGE COURTESY OF OUR FRIEND JORDAN LABIOSA…congrats, Jordan!)
Although all of Virginia’s 49 delegates to the Republican National Convention are bound by law and by party rules to vote in proportion to the March 1 primary results, that restriction is lifted if no candidate achieves a majority on the first ballot. On the second and any subsequent ballots, the delegates may vote for the candidate of their choice, subject to RNC rules about which candidates are qualified to have their names placed in nomination. Under existing rules, it is likely only Trump and Cruz will qualify, which underscores the importance of these local battles over who will represent the party at the Cleveland convention this July.
What makes this particular contest interesting is that Trump carried the district by a wide margin in the March 1 presidential primary, besting Cruz by almost 29 percentage points. The Trump campaign, slowly awakening to the fact that who the delegates are could actually matter, has decried as unfair any results in delegate elections that do not resemble the primary results in a particular state or district. Cruz, who by and large draws significantly more support from the conservative activist base familiar with conventions and delegate elections, points to longstanding rules and procedures that any serious Republican campaign has understood from the beginning.
The battle over Virginia delegates moves next weekend to Ashburn, where the 10th District Republican Convention will be held and another three delegates elected. The Bull Elephant will be on hand for live coverage. To our knowledge, the Trump campaign has not announced a ticket in the 10th, but the Cruz effort will be led by Sen. Dick Black, TBE’s own Mick Staton, Beau Correll, and Blaine Dunn.
Stay tuned!
34 comments
I have to lol at the Trump campaign sometimes. They’re like a boxer in a three-round fight, ahead on points after the first round, strutting around the ring when the bell rings for the second round. Trump campaign: “What’s that bell?” Republican Party: “The second round is starting. Because there wasn’t a knockout in the first round, the fight continues.” Trump Campaign: “But we only trained for one round.” Republican Party: “This has always been a three-round fight, barring a knockout, and you couldn’t knock your opponent out in the first round.” Trump Campaign: “That’s not fair! We were ahead on points after the first round!” Republican Party: “Let’s see if you’re ahead when the fight is over.”
And will you still be laughing when CleverTed loses the General because of the dismissive attitude the GOP has toward
him and his supporters ?
I imagine the GOP wants to win.
They won’t if they continue to insult and disparage the 35 percent who support Trump. He has also managed to bring new blood in to the minority party. Just keep telling yourselves you don’t need ” those stupid Trump Types” and the loss will be worse than Romneys.
That 35% includes a significant number of Democrats who never were going to vote Republican in the general anyway. Also, since Trump isn’t conservative, there’s no reason way to know whether any of his 35% would be inclined to vote for a conservative inbthe general. Your point is well-taken, though. I too easily forget that Trump’s supporters aren’t the enemy, they’re Trump’s primary victims.
I am quite certain that you are very wrong. Whether you believe it or not, I and many of my friends and family are as conservative any of you. ( Homeschooled children, very serious Christian Faith, voted in every election general and primary for the past 40 years, precinct captain, county committee member, campaign worker) Many of us have had it. Period. You may disagree with our thinking but you had better wake up to the fact that without us AND the many disaffected Dems who are desperate for somewhere to go the GOP Will lose.
Yes, many Trump supporters are using him to give a big middle finger to the whole political process. But if they’re that disenchanted, then they’re already lost to the GOP. As you put it, they’ve had it. They’re ready to vote for a non-conservative entirely unsuitable candidate just to stick it to the GOP. I think it’s too late to worry about losing them.
of course it is not too late. You just want to cast them Side because you don’t want to deal with the Core issues. Sorry- but numbers wise, the GOP proceeds apace, they get wiped out.
Perhaps I differ with Trump supporters on the “core issues.” For me, limited, constitutional government is the core issue. Trump obviously is no fan of limited government.
If you no longer have a nation, then “limited constitutional government ” is irrelevant. We may be past the point of no return, but we are absolutely at the point of Triage on the battle field. The High Minded political philosophy can be revisited if we can
pull out of the final nose dive we are in.
Seems we have irreconcilable differences. Cruz likely will get the nomination. He’ll probably lose much of your 35%. The dems may win in November. What will be, will be. #NeverTrump
And You will be to blame.#growup
This gets old. You Trump supporters insist on backing an uninformed, dishonorable, dishonest, sleazy, profane, immoral candidate when you had plenty of better options, and it’s our fault if the general election doesn’t go well. #noitsyourfault
Trump is the result of the Feckless “Leadership” of the GOP.They ignored the voters for too long. Just reaping what they sowed.
This is the excuse of the Furgeson protestors who burned down their own neighborhood. While your anger is justified, your political vandalism is not. There’s no excuse for Trump.
You may think you are clever by painting Trump supporters as arsonists but All you are doing is further alienating at least a third of the base.
I can’t deny that 35% of the votes have been cast for Trump, but you’re not “the base.” Conservatives are the base.
You don’t get to decide who is and who is not Conservative.The truth is the hashtag movement Will elect The Democrats nominee. The Cruz supporters will own the loss.
Trump is not conservative. #NeverClinton #NeverTrump
If the GOP nominee is 1% better than the D, it is a no brainier. If you do not cancel out a D vote with an R vote, a D win is on you. It is that simple.
#OnlyAConservative2016
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You can say you’re conservative as me but obviously you’re not. This conservative here is far too principled to KNOWINGLY vote for a flip flopping pro- abortion, universal healthcare, common core, pro-stricter gun laws including some outright bans, bigger government…the list goes on. And, I flat out do not like or trust him. #nevertrump Without us you fail too.
Ted Cruz is NOT insulting Trump supporters.
You cannot make categorical statements like that.The “New York Values” was offensive whether you accept it or not.
No. Conservative voters know what he meant. Only dishonest Trump supporters claim to not understand exactly what he was saying. We recognize and reject your faux outrage….it doesnt sell here.
The Republican candidate cannot win in the Fall if the whole party does not come out to vote. The foolishness on the part of the Cruz, “never Trump” people is bizarre. Were he to become the nominee, you all would
regret all of this pretentious posturing.
Lol “you all”.
I’m not a nevertrump person, I’m a #neverhillary person
Good.
A very good analogy, Louis. And I am one of those who flirted with supporting Trump, almost considering myself a Trumpeteer, and then one miscue, one misstep, one miscalculation of his after another, after another, after another. And now, I’d rather see Kasich as our nominee than Trump.
It will be Trump or Cruz… and Cruz would be glad to have your support.
Per Yahoo!! Agree with them!
I thought that his being an intelligent and talented man would mean that eventually he would start acting presidential and leave the bravado and buffoonery behind him. I thought incorrectly.
Later tonight we’ll have the results of the Loudoun County Straw poll.