In preparation for the Republican convention, North Florida party officials have selected their delegates.
Evan Power of Leon County, Clint Pate of Jackson and Thelma Rohan of Bay will represent Congressional District 2 at the Republican Convention in July. Florida’s 99 delegates are required to vote for Donald Trump for the first three rounds of voting, because he won the primary. As for the fourth ballot, delegate Evan Power is undecided.
“On a fourth ballot it’s really an interesting situation, because if neither of the leading candidates have closed the deal in three ballots I think it’s natural for people to start looking outside that group. So I think you’ll see new candidates come forward. And at the end of the day I’ll have to look and evaluate who I think can pose the best chance of winning in November at that point,” he said.
State Party Treasurer Jeff Howell was a 2012 delegate, and he says it's a responsibility not to be taken lightly.
“It gets so intense, that Rush Limbaugh was out there saying stuff on the web, and people started texting. And I was on the floor of the convention and people from back home are going ‘You are gonna support the rules! We elected you!’ So you do get a lot of pressure and you get a lot of phone calls to either support the rules or don’t,” he said.
As the possibility of a contested convention grows, so does the importance of the delegates. Despite what the people back home say, delegates can alter the rules, and perhaps pave the way for a dark horse candidate. And that worries Jackson County’s state committeeman Jim Peacock.
“There will be other rules that will be brought before the convention. I just beg that you look at these rules and think of the people back home, and who we are and what we represent and our values,” he said.
Party officials from across the district chose this year’s delegates from about a dozen hopefuls. The three delegates, and three alternates, will head to the convention in Cleveland this summer.
