The Ron Paul supporters from Mitt Romney’s congressional district whose delegate selections were jeopardized by a ballot challenge are going to the Republican National Convention after all.
The Massachusetts Republican Party’s Allocation Committee has upheld the election of six Paul loyalists who defeated Romney backers at a Fifth Congressional District caucus in April.
The upsets did not strip Romney of delegate votes -- because of Romney’s decisive win in Massachusetts’s March primary, delegates from the state could not vote for Paul during the first, and likely only, round of balloting at the convention, even if they preferred the representative from Texas.
But the surprising wins by Paul supporters denied Romney enthusiasts the honor of voting for their candidate in Tampa.
Shortly after the caucus, Janet Leombruno, a losing Romney delegate candidate, filed a protest claiming the results should be invalidated because of procedural errors. Caucus voters were not required, as they should have been, to record or verify their names, addresses, and GOP affiliations, Leombruno alleged.
Raise Your Voice
Click to contact candidates or elected officials about this issue. The allocation committee determined Leombruno’s allegations were true but found no evidence that ineligible voters actually cast ballots, so it upheld the Paul supporters’ wins.
Statewide, Paul backers seized 18 of the 27 delegate slots Romney won on Super Tuesday.
Callum Borchers can be reached at callum.borchers@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @callumborchers.
The Massachusetts Republican Party’s Allocation Committee has upheld the election of six Paul loyalists who defeated Romney backers at a Fifth Congressional District caucus in April.
The upsets did not strip Romney of delegate votes -- because of Romney’s decisive win in Massachusetts’s March primary, delegates from the state could not vote for Paul during the first, and likely only, round of balloting at the convention, even if they preferred the representative from Texas.
But the surprising wins by Paul supporters denied Romney enthusiasts the honor of voting for their candidate in Tampa.
Shortly after the caucus, Janet Leombruno, a losing Romney delegate candidate, filed a protest claiming the results should be invalidated because of procedural errors. Caucus voters were not required, as they should have been, to record or verify their names, addresses, and GOP affiliations, Leombruno alleged.
Raise Your VoiceClick to contact candidates or elected officials about this issue. The allocation committee determined Leombruno’s allegations were true but found no evidence that ineligible voters actually cast ballots, so it upheld the Paul supporters’ wins.
Statewide, Paul backers seized 18 of the 27 delegate slots Romney won on Super Tuesday.
Callum Borchers can be reached at callum.borchers@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @callumborchers.
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