I didn't realize that August 2015, when the CO GOP changed the rules, was over a year ago.
First, CO GOP changed the rules in August to leave the delegates unbound until the national convention. Then they had a surprise state convention to bind the delegates anyway. We know they told the Cruz campaign--but did they inform the Trump campaign at the same time? Or did they wait until the last minute to tell the Trump campaign about the state convention?
I love the fact that Trump is highlighting the irregularities of the Cruz camp. Cruz is dropping like a rock.
Actually, that is false. The only change to the rules was to eliminate the straw poll. The straw poll had always been non-binding, but rule changes at the RNC would have required the results of the straw poll to be binding had they held it. So to keep the process the same as it had been, they simply eliminated the straw poll.
However, the idea that this change meant that all of the CO delegates would be unbound is false. The people who wanted to be selected as delegates had to file a statement of intent. On that statement of intent, it gave the delegate candidate the option to run as a bound delegate for a specific candidate, or run as an unbound delegate. If they indicated they were pledged to a specific candidate and were selected, they would be bound to that candidate on the first vote. If they ran as unbound and were selected, then they were free agents.
Here is what FrontLoadingHQ said about the process months in advance of the actual process:
"Colorado has been talked about as a state that will send an unbound delegation to the national convention. That would only be the case if all the delegate candidates who file intent to run forms opted to remain unaffiliated with any presidential campaign. If those delegate candidates pledge to a presidential candidate and are ultimately elected to one of the 34 delegate slots (not counting the party/automatic delegates), then they are functionally locked in with that candidate if that candidate is still in the race for the Republican nomination."