All the talk this week was whether the GOP may be headed for a contested convention…and if so, what constitutes "fair". The facts are simple. In order to secure the GOP nomination you must get more than half of the delegates. In this case, the magic number is 1237. The ideal situation is that you earn more than half during the primary process. But if you don't have half, you don't have the nomination. Period. Delegates are bound to vote for a candidate according to how the primary process went in their state…but only on the first ballot. If after the first ballot no one has 1237 or more, all bets are off. Delegates can vote for anyone. |
That's when the horse trading begins. Who would be the best President? Who can beat the Democrat nominee? Who will fly me on his private plane? Those are all questions the delegates will ask themselves. Meanwhile the media will paint a picture of chaos and discontent, but the fact is, either you have a majority of delegates or you don't. If you don't, you're not entitled to anything other than a continued fight for the nomination.
We're watching history unfold in 2016, but ironically what's being touted as chaos may be an entertaining testament to following the rules.
We're watching history unfold in 2016, but ironically what's being touted as chaos may be an entertaining testament to following the rules.