Des Moines Register – by Jennifer Jacobs
Iowa will be required to bind its delegates, for the first time, to the results of the GOP caucuses in the 2016 presidential race.
But Republicans here will have some say in how the delegates mirror the vote results, a party official said today. The off-year Iowa caucuses, when there’s no vote on presidential candidates, are tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
The Republican National Committee voted to bind delegates at its 2012 convention in Tampa, despite protests from Iowa.
Until now, Iowa’s GOP delegates were chosen through local and state conventions, a process that in 2012 was dominated by backers of presidential candidate Ron Paul.
When the Iowa delegation reached Tampa for the convention, 22 of its 28 votes went to Paul instead of nominee Mitt Romney — nearly 79 percent of the delegation. Paul came in third in the Iowa caucuses with 21.5 percent of the vote.
The new rule isn’t only for Iowa, home of the first test in the president-picking process. The Republican National Committee no longer will allow any state to hold caucuses that don’t bind delegates.
“This is the party trying to line up the results to the wishes of the people,” said Republican Party of Iowa Chairman A.J. Spiker, who was one of the Paul backers swept into power at party headquarters last election cycle.
Iowa’s RNC committeeman, Steve Scheffler, was among the minority who voted against the binding requirement, arguing that the authority over delegates should remain in states’ hands.
But the national rule leaves some flexibility for states to define how that allocation occurs, as long as it’s in a proportional manner, not winner-take-all, Spiker said.
At the next RNC meeting, which begins Wednesday, Republicans will tweak the rules. For example, they want to prevent a state from requiring a candidate get 50 percent of the vote to get 50 percent of delegates, Spiker said. The high bar will likely be 20 percent, or possibly 33 percent, he said.
Spiker noted that the majority of Iowa delegates will end up being able to vote for any candidate they like, anyway.
That’s because the presidential field often has six, eight or more candidates at the time of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, but many will have dropped out by the time the national convention rolls around in 2016. It’s planned for late June or early July.
“At the end of the day, you’ll still have unbound delegates,” Spiker said.
Another piece of good news for Iowa: At the Tampa convention in 2012, the RNC set severe penalties for any state besides Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada that tries to hold its vote before the last Thursday in February, Spiker said.
“We currently have the strongest first-in-the-nation protections that the Iowa GOP has ever had,” he said.
ABOUT THE CAUCUSES
The caucuses are free and open to the public. Start time for both parties is 7 p.m.
Iowans who will be 18 by the general election on Nov. 4 are eligible to vote. Only Republicans can vote in the Republican caucuses and Democrats in the Democratic caucuses. Attendees can register to vote or change party affiliation on caucus night.
Here’s what’s at stake for Republicans: Backers of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad are urging mainstream, fiscally oriented Republicans to show up; Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition members such as Steve Scheffler are urging social conservatives to show up “to ensure pro-family values like life, marriage, religious liberty, etc. are elevated and defended”; and followers of the liberty movement that sprung from Ron Paul’s presidential campaign are urging “liberty-minded” Republicans to show up. The faction that turns out in the greatest force will control the party. Turnout will also send a message about which 2016 presidential hopefuls are most welcome here.
Go to www.iowagop.org/2014-caucus-page for the GOP caucus locations andwww.thecaucuses.org for the Democratic caucus sites throughout Iowa.
“The new rule isn’t only for Iowa, home of the first test in the president-picking process. The Republican National Committee no longer will allow any state to hold caucuses that don’t bind delegates.”
More smoke & mirrors.
Got to keep up the illusion, at least.