RNC Passes Calendar Reform
ShareKANSAS CITY, MO -- The RNC has approved a resolution making dramatic changes to the way the GOP picks a presidential nominee, moving primaries to later dates and requiring states to allocate their delegates on a proportional basis.
The proposal will move the earliest nominating contests -- in IA, NH, SC and NV -- back from early Jan. to Feb. It will also require states that hold nominating contests in March to award delegates based on the proportion of votes candidates win, eliminating the prospect of an early winner-take-all state that would effectively end the nominating process.
Proponents said the measure would avoid the calamity of a national primary. Already, nearly 40 states have primaries scheduled for the first possible day in the nominating calendar.
"This is not a perfect rule, but it is the best possible rule under the circumstances we have now," said John Ryder, the TN national committeeman who served on the temporary panel that crafted the measure.
In practice, the new rules will require GOP WH candidates to place more emphasis on grassroots organizing. Candidates will have to build their campaigns in dozens of states, rather than focusing solely on raising money for TV ads. What's more, primaries won't be held so close to the winter holidays.
Both parties have worked for years to move their nominating processes away from the holiday season, and to solve what is widely believed to be a broken system. The RNC and the DNC worked together to come up with an acceptable compromise; the DNC is expected to vote on their own measure later this month.
Opponents objected to the idea that their states would be forced to adopt proportional representation, and that most states would have to pursue a legislative avenue to reschedule their primaries. Opponents said several state legislatures dominated by Dems could hurt
"I don't trust the DNC. I think we're giving them a last look at their process," said James Dunn, the national committeeman from OK, in announcing his opposition.
The primary process has been the subject of constant negotiations in recent years. The RNC passed a special rule at the '08 convention in order to fix the process, the first time a mid-cycle rule change has been allowed under GOP rules.
"The primary process will never be solved," said NH GOP chair John H. Sununu, the former governor. "This is a good solution. It is not a perfect solution. There will never be a perfect solution."
The new rules represent the most dramatic change to the presidential nominating process since the McGovern Commission provided for the direct election of delegates to party conventions after riots broke out at the '68 DNC convention.
Party officials took note of the historic nature of the change, taking the unusual step of requiring RNC members to vote from their seats. The vote passed by a 103-41 margin.
RNC chair Michael Steele singled out NJ national committee member David Norcross, who spearheaded the calendar change. Norcross spent months negotiating with Dems, and a frantic last several days whipping votes for his proposal.
The meeting in Kansas City is Norcross's last as a national committee member after serving his state since '77. Norcross earned a standing ovation for his work.
Update: We incorrectly attributed a quote to OK GOP chair Matt Pinnell. It was OK national committeeman James Dunn who spoke, not Pinnell. Pinnell voted in favor of the rule change.
