RNC Aims To Draw Out Nominating Process
The RNC is likely to subtly alter their presidential nominating calendar in order to draw out the process of picking a candidate, according to a draft rule sent to members of the national committee today and obtained by Hotline OnCall.
The new rule, written after months of painstaking negotiations among senior members of the national committee, would push the beginning of the presidential nominating process back a month, to Feb., as part of a plan to prevent wealthy candidates from stealing the nomination.
GOP caucuses and primaries would be held that month in the 4 early states -- the rule codifies IA, NH, SC and NV as states allowed to hold contests in a "pre-window." Every other state would be allowed to hold their nominating contests on or after the first Tuesday in March.
But there's an important caveat, members of the Temporary Delegate Selection Committee said: Any state that holds its nominating contest before the first day of April -- that is, any state that rushes to front-load their nominating process -- will have to award their delegates on a proportional basis.
That's a dramatic change from previous party rules; many states awarded delegates on a winner-take-all basis, setting up key dates on which candidates could win big chunks of delegates and shut out their rivals. In '08, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) won all of FL's delegates, even though he won just 36% of the vote. Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee won a combined 59% of the vote -- and no delegates. Giuliani, who had viewed the state as a firewall, dropped out of the race that night.
The change is designed to eliminate a process that rewards wealthy candidates with high name recognition. Instead, candidates will have to campaign across the country and appeal to different audiences, something that could help the GOP pick a stronger nominee.
"By making the second phase of the nominating process proportional, you reduce the possibility that any candidate in any one primary in any one state can deliver a knockout blow that early in the process and end the process prematurely," said John Ryder, TN's RNC representative and a member of the committee. Ryder said the goal is to have a 10-12 week nominating process that finishes before it can divide the party, but continues long enough to ensure the party picks the right nominee.
The delegate selection and calendar fight is one that's been going on at the RNC for years, if not decades. The committee debated a number of proposals that would have more radically altered the calendar process -- grouping states by size, installing rotating primaries and other fixes -- but none would have won the two-thirds of the vote the RNC will need to pass the proposed rule. RNC members will vote on the proposal at their summer meeting in Aug. in Kansas City.
"There has to be consensus to get this thing passed," said Saul Anuzis, MI's national committeeman and another member of the select panel. He called the result "what was realistic in order to get two-thirds of the vote."
Most importantly to members of both parties, candidates and staffers won't have to miss the winter holidays with their families. GOPers have worked closely with Dems and the DNC to push back the start of the primary process in order to avoid a repeat of '08, when the IA caucuses came just 3 days into the new year and the NH primary came the following week. Because of pressure from other states, both IA and NH had threatened to move their nominating contests into '07.
By pushing everything back a month, Ryder said the plan "restore[s] some sanity to the process." Anuzis called the compromise measured, but progress nonetheless.
A special DNC panel has already offered its own amendments to their rules, which would move Dems' windows back as well. And though the RNC gets to vote first, the DNC has to pass its own reforms for both parties' new rules to kick in.
The new rules are likely to be the longest-lasting legacy of chairman Michael Steele's tenure. Altering the presidential calendar so much is something several chairmen have tried, without success. The last effort, in '02, stalled when George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove scuttled plans to help reduce NH's influence on the process.
GOPers are taking no chances this time. The Temporary Delegate Selection Committee has already begun discussions with RNC members. "At this point, the Committee members have heard little opposition to the ideas adopted by the Committee, presumably in part due to the open process throughout this deliberation period," Steele and RNC chief counsel Reince Priebus wrote in an email to RNC members.
Read the full memo, from Steele and Priebus to members of the RNC, here: