Election cycles are always a little bit crazy. That’s amplified a few times when it is a presidential election year, and a few times more when neither candidate is the incumbent. The 2016 cycle is blowing all of that out of the water. This cycle has been, to put it mildly, a circus. Well, get ready, because this seems to be merely the opening act. The Republicans really, REALLY don’t want Trump as the nominee, so what are they willing to do to keep him from getting it?
Curly Haugland, a GOP national committeeman from North Dakota, says just about anything.
It’s not exactly news that Trump and the GOP powers-that-be aren’t exactly on friendly terms. Trump has constantly complained about the GOP’s voting rules when they inconvenience him, and the GOP leaders have pushed back.
In an interview with NPR, Haugland said that primary votes could be irrelevant when the convention starts in July:
“No matter what the popular belief might be, there is no connection between primaries and the actual convention.”
Wait, what?
Tradition dictates that delegates support the candidate that won their state’s primary in the convention. However, Haugland says GOP Rule 38 states that delegates are not bound by the “unit rule.” That means that delegates from a state can’t all be forced to vote the same way at the convention.
If you’re still confused, you’re not alone. And guess what, it gets even more complicated:
“When the convention convenes, the delegates adopt their own rules, which haven’t been adopted yet.”
That’s right, the delegates could change the rules of the game in any way they choose at the actual convention, with the eyes of the world on them.
How much more fun could this get?!
This is indicative of what everyone has known for months and the GOP refuses to publicly acknowledge: the party is fracturing. Priebus said the Republican Party will back whoever the delegates pick as the nominee.
How they will actually pick the nominee, though, is still up in the air.
So stock up on popcorn and cotton candy, because with more primaries yet to be decided, this show is just warming up. And the GOP can only hope they can survive the main act without the tent falling down on their heads.
Feature image via Getty/Isaac Brekken
