Free Republic

Ongoing conversation and results of closed primary in Oregon

Despite his loss in Ohio, Mr. Trump is positioned to make a serious run at earning an outright majority of delegates and avoid a contested convention. His success in winner-take-all Florida — worth 99 delegates — was enough to push Marco Rubio out of the race. The consequences of the departure are not too significant: Mr. Rubio was already reduced to around 10 percent of the vote, or maybe less, by the time he lost his home state, Florida, by a 19-percentage-point margin. It was the scale of Mr. Trump’s win that was impressive and telling. He won 46 percent...

The Last Refuge blog (also known as The Conservative Treehouse) has done yeoman's work exposing the GOP establishment's plot to jam Jeb Bush down the collective throats of the electorate. Despite Bush's single-digit poll numbers, the GOPe remains fixated on a Bush candidacy (and, by extension, a Hillary presidency, since Bush has zero chance of winning a general election). Most recently, Virginia's old guard has proffered a laughably obvious ploy to deter independent, Tea Party, Reagan Democrat, and Constitutional Conservatives who have abandoned the Republican establishment from voting in the GOP primary....

In a clear case of intra-party punishment aimed at Maricopa County Republican Chairman Tyler Bowyer for having the audacity to buck AZGOP Chairman Robert Graham and his McCain-led establishment allies, comes this inexcusable retaliation. Bowyer hosted and appeared onstage at the July 11, 2015 Phoenix event featuring presidential candidate Donald Trump. That kind of independence doesn’t play well with those who want to dominate the party and, like John McCain, consider the conservative base “crazies.” Kudos to Frosty Taylor, editor of Maricopa County Republican Briefs for the following report: Arizona Republican Party Chairman Robert Graham has stopped payment on the...

The Tennessee Republican Executive Committee has, at least for now, closed the door on a resolution supporting statewide closed primaries. The committee met Saturday to consider passage of the proposed closed primary resolution, but the measure failed. Twenty-nine members of the Republican Executive Committee voted in favor of the resolution, while 37 committee members voted against it.

When To Start Watching: Polls will close for the Louisiana Republican primary at 8 p.m. CDT (9 p.m. EDT). Results will begin to come in around 8:30 p.m. CDT. What's At Stake: Twenty of the state's 46 delegates are up for grabs Saturday, divided proportionately among all candidates who receive more than 25 percent of the vote in the state. Louisiana hosts a closed primary, meaning only registered Republicans may vote for the four candidates in the GOP contest.

Ron Paul's biggest obstacle in Florida isn't one of his GOP competitors; it's the structure of the primary itself... ..It seems Ron Paul's ceiling of support has expanded to include independent and even liberal voters... ..Smith says the structure of the Republican primary in Florida is focused less on voters moved to participate in the final hours of a primary and more geared toward the consistent, socially conservative constituency within the party.

The case of the missing news articles. Scanning the political articles on Google I came across these references to the 2012 GOP Primary in Michigan: News results: Michigan GOP approves closed primary for 2012 presidential election Detroit Free Press - August 13, 2011 Michigan Republicans have voted to hold a closed primary election to choose 2012 presidential convention delegates. The ? Michigan GOP to pick delegates in 'closed' primary Battle Creek Enquirer - August 13, 2011 Republican leaders in Michigan voted Saturday to choose their 2012 presidential convention delegates with a closed ? Michigan GOP to hold primary for delegates in presidential...

Huntsman wins: Lopsided results not a surprise By Bob Bernick Jr. and Jerry D. Spangler Deseret Morning News Jon Huntsman Jr., Rep. Chris Cannon and John Swallow have survived to campaign another day. In Tuesday's primary elections, Huntsman thumped GOP challenger Nolan Karras by about 65-35 percent, unofficial and incomplete election results showed. Karras conceded before 10 p.m., saying: "I congratulate Jon and offer him my support. I hope we have restored civility to politics" by the issue-oriented, high-road tenor of the GOP gubernatorial debate. "You didn't see the rhetoric (in the governor's race) you saw in some others. We...

Simon should become what the Bush White House, 80% of GOP representatives and most GOP legislators thought Riordan was when they endorsed him--the guy who can reach out to independents and voters disaffected with Davis.... [Another RINO wannabe?]