GOP delegate fight coming to Iowa

Iowa Republicans’ role in nominating a presidential candidate at a contested national party convention will begin taking shape Saturday.

The unsettled GOP race has raised the stakes on delegate selection higher than they have been in decades, driving excitement among grass-roots activists and a fresh round of campaigning by candidates. About 2,500 activists will attend the Iowa GOP’s four district conventions Saturday, where they’ll choose 12 of the 30 Iowa delegates who will attend the national convention in Cleveland this summer.

“We’ve got a perfect storm of enthusiasm, and my sense is you’ll feel that enthusiasm on the convention floor,” Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said.

Whom Iowa’s delegates support as the presidential nominee could be crucial,  given the increasing possibility that current Republican front-runner Donald Trump will fail to secure the nomination on the first ballot, turning the national convention into a free-for-all.

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“When Donald Trump lost Ohio, it effectively guaranteed that the presidential nominee would be chosen at the national convention in July,” Iowa Republican activist Jamie Johnson said. “That’s why the race for national delegates is so important in each of (Iowa’s) four districts. These national delegates are going to choose our party’s nominee.”

​Under party rules, the 30 Iowans on the convention floor will initially cast eight votes for Ted Cruz, seven for Trump, seven for Marco Rubio, three for Ben Carson and one each for Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, and Rand Paul — the allocation that reflects the results from Iowa’s Feb. 1 caucuses.

But if a candidate fails to win 1,237 votes on the first ballot, those Iowans, like most other delegates from across the country, will be free to vote their conscience. That makes who Iowa Republicans send to Cleveland critically important. Are they on-the-record Trump supporters? Or longtime Cruz backers? Or could they be persuaded to fall in behind a candidate who’s not even currently in the field?

“We’re in uncharted waters here,” Johnson said.

Trump holds a national lead in delegates, but he lost the Wisconsin primary to Cruz on Tuesday, a result widely seen as a turning point in the race that could make it difficult for him to capture the 1,237-delegate majority needed to clinch the nomination ahead of the convention.

Cruz and Kasich, the third remaining Republican candidate, each argue that they’re best positioned to win over national delegates and grab the nomination in a contested convention scenario, while other voices inside and outside the party have suggested that House Speaker Paul Ryan could emerge as the nominee in July in Cleveland.

That uncertainty guarantees competitive contests for the three delegate spots that will be elected from each of Iowa’s four congressional districts — and a concerted effort to secure delegates by at least two of the remaining presidential campaigns.

“There’s going to be an extra layer of due diligence on people elected as national delegates,” Dallas County GOP Chairman Tyler DeHaan said. “Certainly, the candidates they prefer, their standing within the party, their intentions if it is a contested convention — these are all questions that are going to be asked and should be asked.”

Who has the ground game in Iowa?

Cruz, the caucus winner who has invested substantial time and manpower in Iowa over the past year, is seen as the best prepared for a protracted delegate fight. That was demonstrated last weekend in North Dakota, when his campaign claimed 18 supporters among the 25 national delegates selected at a party convention.

He remains well-organized in Iowa and will run slates of national convention delegations at all four district meetings this Saturday, several activists said this week.

Trump senior adviser Tana Goertz said the front-runner’s campaign is executing a “caucus-to-convention strategy” aimed at getting as many Trump backers to Cleveland as possible, although she declined to share details on how that effort was playing out in Iowa.

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“We’re doing everything that every other campaign would do and more — I mean, we do work for Donald Trump,” Goertz said. “... We’re doing everything that any other campaign would be doing that’s ethically acceptable.”

Johnson, the GOP activist, is vying to be a neutral delegate from the 4th District, but he expects the Cruz and Trump campaigns to run three-candidate slates in each district in hopes of stacking the delegation with their supporters.

Iowa Republican National Committeeman Steve Scheffler said he’s aware of 16 people vying to be delegates in the 2nd District. In the 3rd and 4th, activists said they expect as many as eight or nine convention candidates.

Another wrinkle in delegate selection

Saturday’s district conventions could also provide signals on the candidate preferences of the rest of Iowa’s national delegation.

In addition to electing 12 national delegates, district convention attendees also will appoint an eight-member nominating committee, which will choose a slate of 15 at-large delegates to the national convention.

That slate will get an up-or-down vote at the state convention May 21. In the past, at least a few of the at-large delegates have been prominent party leaders, including Gov. Terry Branstad and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.

The final three members of Iowa’s delegation are Kaufmann, Scheffler and National Committeewoman Tamara Scott. Kaufmann and Scheffler said they’re remaining neutral in the race, although they strongly believe the choice should be limited to the three candidates still running —  Cruz, Kasich and Trump.

“It has to be one of these three. If you haven’t been vetted by the voters, in my view you’ve got no business” being the nominee, Scheffler said. “That would create a real division that would be next to impossible to heal before the general election.”

How Republicans will elect national convention delegates

Many Iowa GOP activists have announced plans to vie for national delegate slots and begun campaigning to other district convention attendees. At the convention, candidates must be nominated by another district delegate, and the nomination must be seconded. Delegate candidates are allowed to give a two-minute speech. The district delegates elect national convention delegates (and other party offices and positions) using electronic voting devices. To be elected, a candidate must win a majority of the vote. In cases where it requires more than one ballot for candidates to win a majority, the lowest vote-getter is dropped after each ballot. 

If you go

The Iowa Republicans' district conventions begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at:

1st Congressional District:
Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center
8201 Dakota St., Cedar Falls

2nd Congressional District:
Bridge View Center
102 Church St., Ottumwa

3rd Congressional District:
Southwestern Community College Gym
1501 W Townline St., Creston

4th Congressional District:
Fort Dodge Senior High School
819 N 25th St., Fort Dodge