Priebus: 'Whatever they want to do, they can do' and COGOP chose to deprive all registered Republicans the
opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice. If you were not a
delegate at the state convention you did not get a vote.
The Colorado GOP executive committee has voted to cancel the traditional presidential preference poll after the national party changed its rules to require a state's delegates to support the candidate who wins the caucus vote.
The Colorado GOP executive committee has voted to cancel the traditional presidential preference poll after the national party changed its rules to require a state's delegates to support the candidate who wins the caucus vote.
"It
takes Colorado completely off the map" in the primary season, said Ryan
Call, a former state GOP chairman.
Republicans
held precinct caucus meetings in early 2016 to begin the process of selecting
delegates for the national convention — but the 37 delegates are not pledged to
any specific candidate.
For
Republicans, no declared winner means the caucus will lack much of its hype.
The presidential campaigns still may try to win delegate slots for their
supporters, but experts say the move makes it less likely that candidates will
visit Colorado to court voters.
The
Colorado system often favors anti-establishment candidates who draw a dedicated
following among activists — as evidenced by Rick Santorum's victory in 2012
caucus. So the party's move may hurt GOP contenders who would have
received a boost if they won the state.
State
Republican Party Chairman Steve House said the party's 24-member executive
committee made the unanimous decision Friday — six members were absent — to
skip the preference poll.
The
move, he said, would give Colorado delegates the freedom to support any
candidate eligible at the Cleveland convention in July. Republican National
Committee officials confirmed that the change complies with party rules.
"If
we do a binding presidential preference poll, we would then pledge our
delegates ... and the candidates we bind them to may not be in the race by the
time we get to the convention," House said in an interview.
In 2008
and 2012, die-hard Republican voters gathered at caucus meetings to begin the
delegate-selection process of selecting delegates to the national convention
and voice support for presidential candidates in a straw poll.
The
votes, however, didn't require Colorado delegates to support any particular
candidate at the national conventions. This allowed for delegates that
supported a losing candidate to vote for the nominee and demonstrate party
unity at the convention.
But the
freedom also opened the door for political mischief, as Colorado saw in 2012
when Ron Paul supporters managed to win a
significant portion of the delegate slots, even though Paul finished far behind
other candidates in the Colorado caucuses.
The RNC
tightened the rules in 2012 to eliminate nonbinding straw polls and help
prevent similar stunts in the future, forcing Colorado Republicans to
re-evaluate their process. An effort earlier this year to switch to a
presidential primary system failed amid party infighting.
"It's
an odd scenario," said Josh Putnam, a political science lecturer at the
University of Georgia who runs a popular blog on the presidential
nominating process. "It's not to say the campaigns won't be there. ... But
you won't have a good reflection of support at the caucuses, much less Colorado
Republicans as a whole."
With
the change, the only way Colorado Republican delegates would remain relevant is
the remote chance that no candidate emerges as a clear winner in the primary
contest. In this case, the state's unbound delegates would receive significant
attention and may hold the key to victory in a floor fight. Colorado caucus
results: Published here caucus night.