Ok, but what happens if it’s a brokered convention? I mean, if you win the most delegates, doesn’t that make you the nominee?
A brokered convention is where no candidate has enough votes to win on the first ballot.
And the GOPe set up each states rules so that will be hard to achieve.
Many of the states award their primary delegates in a proportional way so that they only get part of the states delegates even if they win the majority.
They also require the candidate to win the majority in 8 states where it used to be 5.
They did this to keep a conservative from winning.
You can read more about it here:
Go down to the bottom and read “GOPe Roadmap”
GOP Rules Change 'Spits in the Face of Grassroots Conservatives,' Opponents Say
The Party always holds some votes above and beyond the state delegations. Remember how in 2008 Hillary won the primary states but Obama won the caucus states? Neither reached the nominating threshold, so the candidates fought for the so-called "super-delegates," party insiders who also get votes. The super-delegates threw their votes to Obama, which is why the Clintons rightly say that the party turned against them the first chance they got.
If I recall, Republicans were not so heavily weighted with their own super-delegates, at least not back then. They are hoping to prevent Trump from reaching the nominating threshold by changing their rules to convert some winner-take-all states to proportional delegations in order to reduce Trump's delegate count. That's why the 1%-3% candidates are staying in the race, because even that amount will steal a few delegates here and there from Trump. If they can keep Trump under the limit, then the GOP super-delegates can throw the nomination to someone else.
Sundance at Conservative Treehouse laid it out nicely a few months ago here (warning: there is math involved).
-PJ
If the GOP does anything to change the rules, stack the deck or undercut a legitimate Trump or Cruz primary victory, then I am looking for a new party. A party needs to stand for something, or it is no longer a party. It just becomes a random collection of names without purpose.
In 1952 Bob Taft had the most Republican delegates but General Eisenhower’s Establishment supporters put money in the right pockets for caucus and convention meetings-there were fewer primaries back then where the voters had any say.
They also alleged ‘unfairness’ towards Eisenhower and somehow got the “Rules Committee” of the convention to amend the rules leading to Eisenhower beating Taft.
No, you need a majority of the delegates. If not on the first, then on a subsequent ballot.
No. Obviously not. The candidate with a majority of delegates gets the nomination. In a multi-candidate race, that the candidate with the most delegates may not obtain a majority is not inconceivable. Thus, a brokered convention.
This isn’t a game of 52 card pick up. Good grief.
Rules change over the years for the nomination process. Last I remember is it’s first vote only. Then the delegates can do as they please.
I would rather have a brokered system anyway. It’s more ‘Republic’ which is what we are. It ensures that at the least, we get a consensus candidate that
the majority in the party can support.
Right now, the GOP candidates should be huddling with Trump and doing some horse trading ... supporting him for favors — A legitimate and honorable compromise.
The question is not so much winning delegates but having establishment influential elites take them from rightful American candidates. GOPe is strategizing as we speak how to screw us and reward themselves.
Ask Hillary Clinton that... hahaha '
Nope,not at all. If the nominee with the most delegates doesn’t cross the threshold then the delegates are free to support whoever they choose (some staten laws may prevent this but mostly, this is the case). That’s what Bush is hoping for and explains why so many people are still in the race. They don’t need to win, they just need to make sure Trump or Cruz don’t have enough delegates to pass that threshold.