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Abernathy Strategies
RepublicanGazette
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Published daily except some days
Submissions welcome
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All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
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WVGOP convention ends with switched votes handing win to Mike Huckabee
High drama and last minute vote switching carried Mike Huckabee to victory over Mitt Romney at the first ever West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention in Charleston on Tuesday.The convention began with four candidates vying for the votes of about 1,100 delegates -- Huckabee, Romney, John McCain and Ron Paul. After the first round of voting, Romney led with 464 votes, Huckabee was second with 375, McCain was third with 176, and Paul was last with 118. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top three vote-getters moved to a second round. During the hour break between voting, the McCain campaign caucused with its delegates to discuss strategy. Realizing that they were going to fall well short of the votes needed to win the convention, most of the McCain delegates made the decision to cast their votes for Huckabee. Coupled with votes from the Paul supporters that also went largely to Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor was able to eke out the victory.The fact that most McCain and Paul delegates ended up supporting Huckabee was visibly upsetting to a few Romney delegates, who in several cases angrily confronted McCain backers. Romney campaign managers tried to convince state GOP Chairman Doug McKinney to poll the delegates individually after the final vote. After a long period of discussion, McKinney finally declined to do so.Nevertheless, the convention was a success on several levels. The giant hall in the Charleston Civic Center was filled with GOP delegates, and the event attracted three candidates -- Romney, Huckabee and Paul -- who made actual appearances Tuesday morning. Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer appeared on behalf of McCain, and he was heckled several times throughout his remarks by disrespectful delegates supporting other candidates.Financially,the party should also emerge in good shape. Ten presidential candidates originally signed up for the convention, each paying $5,000 apiece. In addition, about 1500 Republicans paid $25 each for delegate fees (the numbers of delegates were whittled after online and county caucus voting in January), meaning the party reaped about $90,000 from presidential and delegate fees alone. The convention format was the brainchild of former state GOP Chairman Rob Capehart, who attended Tuesday's event to observe the result of his handiwork.Convention CEO Bob Fish declared the convention a success, and did yeoman's work to pull off the event, as did party office manager Marti Riggall and other volunteers.Claims by some Republicans that the convention process "disenfranchised" voters are simply unfounded. All Republicans had the ability either to run for at-large delegate spots, or vote for those delegates. Republicans who say they were unaware of the convention are likely unaware of most party activities.The day opened with a welcome by Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, Secretary of State Betty Ireland, and Charleston City Manager Rod Blackstone on behalf of Mayor Danny Jones.On Monday night, several campaigns hosted receptions, and a packed room of several hundred Republicans attended the Kanawha County Lincoln Day Dinner.Mike Ankrom, the Huckabee director in West Virginia, deserves kudos for recruiting enough Huckabee delegates to finish high enough so that his candidate was in a position to take advantage of the turn of events. The event was heavily covered by local and national media. Hoppy Kercheval broadcast live from the convention site, and WSAZ offered live streaming video throughout the day. Major newspapers sent reporters, and Huckabee's win -- and the story behind his vote totals -- played out across the country, just as convention organizers hoped it would.Whether the convention is the first of many or a one-time event remains to be seen. There is much talk about developing a rotating primary system across the country, which would eliminate the need for the convention, which was designed in part to give West Virginia Republicans some influence over the nominating process. Plus, complaints by some Republicans who use the "disenfranchised" term may lead to the state committee abandoning the concept. Anger from some Romney backers is unfounded
After the John McCain and Ron Paul supporters switched their votes to Mike Huckabee and propelled Huckabee to victory over Mitt Romney on Tuesday, most Romney supporters, while disappointed, were savvy enough to understand the politics and strategy behind the move and graciously congratulated the other side.But a handful of Romney backers expressed their anger and made insulting remarks to several McCain delegates.One Romney supporter, whose name I don't even know, kept making snide remarks to me, and after the final vote he finally blurted out something to the effect that I was the "slimiest" person he had ever seen in politics.Well, at least I'm best at something.The Associated Press reported on that incident, and says that I replied, "Grow up." I really don't remember what I said, but that sounds about right. Did anyone tell these people this was a convention? Have they ever been involved in politics before?Another individual, a Republican delegate and Romney supporter who has been around long enough to get it, walked past me, pointed at my McCain badge, and said sarcastically, "Who you supporting tomorrow?"Uh, John McCain, that's who. And I supported John McCain on Tuesday by voting for Mike Huckabee, just like about 164 other McCain delegates did. When conventions involve multiple candidates and a system that whittles those candidates down round by round, delegates supporting candidates who do not finish at the top have no choice but to switch their votes to someone else. In this case, the McCain campaign, finishing a distant third after the first round and facing elimination after a second round of voting, made a strategic decision to ask McCain delegates to support Huckabee over Romney.The same outcome would have occurred if the McCain supporters had kept their votes with the Arizona senator during second round voting. McCain would have been eliminated, and the final round would have been between Romney and Huckabee. The McCain supporters would have voted for Huckabee in the third round, handing him the win.Instead, the McCain campaign -- understanding the inevitable -- simply asked McCain backers to go ahead and support Huckabee in the second round.Was the strategy designed to prevent Romney from declaring a victory? Of course! That's how conventions work! More than 50 percent of the delegates in attendance on Tuesday were in agreement that they did not want Romney to win, and they voted accordingly.Every campaign -- or maybe almost every campaign -- entering Tuesday's convention had discussed a strategy regarding who their delegates would support if their candidate got knocked out after the early voting. That's the strategy that has to be employed in conventions, since, with multiple candidates, it is very unlikely that any candidate can get the 50 percent needed to win on the first ballot. If your preferred candidate cannot win, the strategy turns to affecting the outcome in a way that best benefits your candidate, short of victory. Contested conventions work exactly like that, but the fact that it has been decades since the nation witnessed such a convention on the national level no doubt plays into some of the hard feelings on behalf of some Romney supporters. Only in relatively recent times have conventions been little more than coronations. Before that, strategy involving sending blocks of votes one direction or another was a common, and necessary, tactic.Part of the goal of the convention was to bring Republicans together, bring new Republicans into the fold, and help strengthen the party for the future. Going in, there was a lot of happy talk about how, no matter what happened, we would all be friends at the end of the day and march ahead.If the result instead is bitter feelings and angry outbursts from some supporters of a losing candidate, the convention failed one of its main tests.(From invitation)
“Friends to KEEP Kelli Sobonya in the House”
Request the pleasure of your company
At a Kick-Off Celebration
As
Delegate Kelli Sobonya
R-Cabell/Wayne
West Virginia House of Delegates
Throws her hat into the ring once again
As she seeks a fourth term
in the West Virginia House of Delegates
District 16
Thursday, February 7, 2008
6:30 PM
4-H Camp
Booten Branch Road (Alternate 10)
Barboursville
Live band (sounds from the 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s)
Food & Entertainment
Chilifest
Hotdog Cookout
Family event
Donations will be graciously accepted, but not necessary for attendance
Friends to Keep Kelli Sobonya in the House of Delegates
P. O. Box 367
Barboursville, WV 25504
CANDIDATES FOR STATEWIDE OFFICES HAVE CONFIRMED THEIR ATTENDANCE:
WV Supreme Court of Appeals
Attorney General
Governor
This is an opportunity to meet the candidates and discuss issues.
For more information, call: Amy Hogsett at (304)-416-4446
Kelli has stood up for our West Virginia and Huntington area families–
now let’s stand up for her as she seeks to run for re-election to the House!
www.vote4kelli.com
Public employees please disregard
Paid for by “Friends to Re-Elect Kelli Sobonya, Phyllis Martin Treasurer”
Kelli Sobonya fundraiser Thursday in Barboursville
