ChristopherShelley
04-05-2012, 12:42 AM
Nye County Republicans plan to appeal Paul convention win | Reno Gazette-Journal | rgj.com
http://www.rgj.com/article/20120404/NEWS19/304040099/Nye-County-Republicans-plan-appeal-Paul-convention-win
Supporters of Republican presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul said they came away with all 75 state delegates from Nye County and more than half of 108 state delegates from Douglas County in convention voting Saturday.
But leaders of the Nye Republican Central Committee say they plan to appeal the vote to the state GOP Credentials Committee because backers of Paul, R-Texas, violated party rules and state law, prompting them to leave before the election.
“Me and the others left early because the Paul supporters violated state law, and were unruly and rowdy,” said Fely A. Quitevis, chairman of the Nye GOP. “I couldn’t stand it anymore and gave up. In my heart and mind, I know I did the right thing.”
Paul supporters maintain Nye GOP leaders cheated by trying to convene the convention with unelected delegates, and they elected a chair who oversaw a fair election.
“Supporters of Dr. Paul are reshaping Republican politics in Nevada,” Carl Bunce, Nevada chairman of Paul’s campaign, said in a statement. “They have the stamina and determination to bring the party back to its limited-government roots, county by county.”
Bunce has said Paul supporters would follow rules requiring Nevada’s 28 delegates to be bound on the first ballot to vote in line with the GOP caucus-winning percentages. Republican former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney earned 14 of those delegates because he finished with 50 percent of the caucus vote in February.
But delegates could switch to other candidates if a contested convention leads to more than one ballot.
Last month, Paul backers captured more than half of Clark County’s 1,382 delegates to the state convention in Sparks in May. They also won 14 of the Clark GOP's 21 executive board positions. The county encompassing Las Vegas is the state’s most populous.
While Paul supporters have said they share the GOP goal of defeating Democratic President Barack Obama, the Paul factor could complicate matters at the state convention.
Four years ago, GOP leaders who supported then-presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., abruptly shut down the state convention in Reno when it appeared Paul would take most of Nevada’s delegates to the national convention.
The state convention will elect 28 delegates to the Republican National Convention this summer in Tampa, Fla.
Ralph McMullen, parliamentarian for the state Republican Party, said it would be up to the credentials committee to decide whether the Nye election was legal. The panel also will consider a similar controversy involving Carson City's state delegates, he added.
“I don’t care who wins as long as the rules are followed,” McMullen said. “We don’t want a repeat of 2008. The main thing is you win it fairly and squarely.”
http://www.rgj.com/article/20120404/NEWS19/304040099/Nye-County-Republicans-plan-appeal-Paul-convention-win
Supporters of Republican presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul said they came away with all 75 state delegates from Nye County and more than half of 108 state delegates from Douglas County in convention voting Saturday.
But leaders of the Nye Republican Central Committee say they plan to appeal the vote to the state GOP Credentials Committee because backers of Paul, R-Texas, violated party rules and state law, prompting them to leave before the election.
“Me and the others left early because the Paul supporters violated state law, and were unruly and rowdy,” said Fely A. Quitevis, chairman of the Nye GOP. “I couldn’t stand it anymore and gave up. In my heart and mind, I know I did the right thing.”
Paul supporters maintain Nye GOP leaders cheated by trying to convene the convention with unelected delegates, and they elected a chair who oversaw a fair election.
“Supporters of Dr. Paul are reshaping Republican politics in Nevada,” Carl Bunce, Nevada chairman of Paul’s campaign, said in a statement. “They have the stamina and determination to bring the party back to its limited-government roots, county by county.”
Bunce has said Paul supporters would follow rules requiring Nevada’s 28 delegates to be bound on the first ballot to vote in line with the GOP caucus-winning percentages. Republican former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney earned 14 of those delegates because he finished with 50 percent of the caucus vote in February.
But delegates could switch to other candidates if a contested convention leads to more than one ballot.
Last month, Paul backers captured more than half of Clark County’s 1,382 delegates to the state convention in Sparks in May. They also won 14 of the Clark GOP's 21 executive board positions. The county encompassing Las Vegas is the state’s most populous.
While Paul supporters have said they share the GOP goal of defeating Democratic President Barack Obama, the Paul factor could complicate matters at the state convention.
Four years ago, GOP leaders who supported then-presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., abruptly shut down the state convention in Reno when it appeared Paul would take most of Nevada’s delegates to the national convention.
The state convention will elect 28 delegates to the Republican National Convention this summer in Tampa, Fla.
Ralph McMullen, parliamentarian for the state Republican Party, said it would be up to the credentials committee to decide whether the Nye election was legal. The panel also will consider a similar controversy involving Carson City's state delegates, he added.
“I don’t care who wins as long as the rules are followed,” McMullen said. “We don’t want a repeat of 2008. The main thing is you win it fairly and squarely.”