tsai3904
04-22-2012, 11:48 AM
2008 Republican National Convention
Voting for the Republican Presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention occurred on September 3, 2008.
Nomination of Candidate
Only John McCain was nominated as a candidate for President as you can see here:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/16212/stop/16267
Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney won a plurality of delegates in at least 5 states but they were not nominated as candidates for President on the floor of the convention. This is key because although Santorum has won a plurality of delegates in at least 5 states, more likely than not, he will not be nominated as a candidate.
Voting
Although only McCain was nominated as a candidate, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney received votes from delegates. There were also many delegates not voting.
This shows that delegates who are bound (even on the first ballot) to candidates who have dropped out can choose to not vote or vote for anyone else (even people who did not receive a plurality of delegates in 5 states).
Announcement of Votes
Ron Paul and Mitt Romney were the only other candidates to receive votes. Romney's only votes came from two delegates in Utah. Ron Paul received at least 23 votes but you would have never been able to figure that out based on the proceedings of the convention.
Watch how the Chair announces the votes that Romney receives and the votes that Ron Paul receives.
Utah
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19475/stop/19538
Notice how the Chair announces Romney receiving two votes.
Now take a look at Alaska, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia. These are states where Ron Paul's votes were publicly announced by each State Delegation Chair but notice how the Chair at the end does not mention the votes Ron Paul receives.
Alaska
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/16423/stop/16469
Oregon
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19058/stop/19108
Washington
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19701/stop/19741
Pay attention to West Virginia below. The Chair didn't hear the votes and assumed they all went for McCain.
West Virginia
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19740/stop/19786
Minnesota is also interesting. Governor Pawlenty only announced the votes for McCain and neglected to announce Ron Paul's 6 votes. Those 6 votes were recorded as Not Voting but after letter by the MN GOP to the RNC, those 6 votes were officially recorded for Ron Paul months after the convention.
Minnesota
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/17604/stop/17650
Ron Paul also officially received two votes from Oklahoma but it was not announced at the convention because of confusion, which you can see below.
Oklahoma
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/18999/stop/19058
Senator Inhofe never announced how the votes were allocated so the Chair assumed all the votes went to McCain. However, according to this article (http://www.batesline.com/archives/2008/09/oklahoma-didnt-vote.html), two delegates elected for the 2nd Congressional District were Ron Paul supporters who were supposed to be pledged to Huckabee. After Huckabee dropped out, the Ron Paul supporters were unbound and chose to vote for Ron Paul.
Delegates Not Voting
Several states had delegates who chose not to vote. I don't know what the consequence of this was or if only certain states allowed this due to their rules but it does seem like it's plausible.
Here's one example of a state having some delegates not voting:
North Carolina
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/18763/stop/18822
North Carolina had 69 votes but the Delegation Chair only announced 65 votes for McCain. The 4 delegates were recorded as Not Voting.
It has been reported that 6 delegates in Idaho and 2 delegates in Nebraska recorded as Not Voting were actually Ron Paul supporters. I'm not sure why they didn't vote for Ron Paul or if they were even allowed to.
Lessons Learned
Assuming Santorum and Gingrich will both have suspended/withdrew their campaigns before the National Convention, they will not be nominated as candidates. If they are not nominated, it seems like all their pledged delegates will be unbound as what happened to Huckabee's and Romney's delegates in 08. Huckabee did not receive a single vote even though he earned many pledged delegates.
Also, the blackout of Ron Paul was in full effect in 08. Although 15 votes for Ron Paul were publicly announced by State Delegation Chairs, when results were tabulated, they announced that Ron Paul received only 5 votes.
You can see the announcement of the final results here:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/20155/stop/20175
In addition to the 15 publicly announced votes, Ron Paul received 6 votes from Minnesota and 2 votes from Oklahoma that were not announced by each State Delegation Chair. Many of the 14 delegates recorded as "Not Voting" were also speculated to have been Ron Paul supporters.
Source
All information came from The Green Papers here:
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/R.phtml
Voting for the Republican Presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention occurred on September 3, 2008.
Nomination of Candidate
Only John McCain was nominated as a candidate for President as you can see here:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/16212/stop/16267
Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney won a plurality of delegates in at least 5 states but they were not nominated as candidates for President on the floor of the convention. This is key because although Santorum has won a plurality of delegates in at least 5 states, more likely than not, he will not be nominated as a candidate.
Voting
Although only McCain was nominated as a candidate, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney received votes from delegates. There were also many delegates not voting.
This shows that delegates who are bound (even on the first ballot) to candidates who have dropped out can choose to not vote or vote for anyone else (even people who did not receive a plurality of delegates in 5 states).
Announcement of Votes
Ron Paul and Mitt Romney were the only other candidates to receive votes. Romney's only votes came from two delegates in Utah. Ron Paul received at least 23 votes but you would have never been able to figure that out based on the proceedings of the convention.
Watch how the Chair announces the votes that Romney receives and the votes that Ron Paul receives.
Utah
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19475/stop/19538
Notice how the Chair announces Romney receiving two votes.
Now take a look at Alaska, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia. These are states where Ron Paul's votes were publicly announced by each State Delegation Chair but notice how the Chair at the end does not mention the votes Ron Paul receives.
Alaska
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/16423/stop/16469
Oregon
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19058/stop/19108
Washington
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19701/stop/19741
Pay attention to West Virginia below. The Chair didn't hear the votes and assumed they all went for McCain.
West Virginia
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/19740/stop/19786
Minnesota is also interesting. Governor Pawlenty only announced the votes for McCain and neglected to announce Ron Paul's 6 votes. Those 6 votes were recorded as Not Voting but after letter by the MN GOP to the RNC, those 6 votes were officially recorded for Ron Paul months after the convention.
Minnesota
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/17604/stop/17650
Ron Paul also officially received two votes from Oklahoma but it was not announced at the convention because of confusion, which you can see below.
Oklahoma
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/18999/stop/19058
Senator Inhofe never announced how the votes were allocated so the Chair assumed all the votes went to McCain. However, according to this article (http://www.batesline.com/archives/2008/09/oklahoma-didnt-vote.html), two delegates elected for the 2nd Congressional District were Ron Paul supporters who were supposed to be pledged to Huckabee. After Huckabee dropped out, the Ron Paul supporters were unbound and chose to vote for Ron Paul.
Delegates Not Voting
Several states had delegates who chose not to vote. I don't know what the consequence of this was or if only certain states allowed this due to their rules but it does seem like it's plausible.
Here's one example of a state having some delegates not voting:
North Carolina
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/18763/stop/18822
North Carolina had 69 votes but the Delegation Chair only announced 65 votes for McCain. The 4 delegates were recorded as Not Voting.
It has been reported that 6 delegates in Idaho and 2 delegates in Nebraska recorded as Not Voting were actually Ron Paul supporters. I'm not sure why they didn't vote for Ron Paul or if they were even allowed to.
Lessons Learned
Assuming Santorum and Gingrich will both have suspended/withdrew their campaigns before the National Convention, they will not be nominated as candidates. If they are not nominated, it seems like all their pledged delegates will be unbound as what happened to Huckabee's and Romney's delegates in 08. Huckabee did not receive a single vote even though he earned many pledged delegates.
Also, the blackout of Ron Paul was in full effect in 08. Although 15 votes for Ron Paul were publicly announced by State Delegation Chairs, when results were tabulated, they announced that Ron Paul received only 5 votes.
You can see the announcement of the final results here:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RepublicanConventionDay3/start/20155/stop/20175
In addition to the 15 publicly announced votes, Ron Paul received 6 votes from Minnesota and 2 votes from Oklahoma that were not announced by each State Delegation Chair. Many of the 14 delegates recorded as "Not Voting" were also speculated to have been Ron Paul supporters.
Source
All information came from The Green Papers here:
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/R.phtml