It seems every blog, talk radio host and the few tables at Starbucks that have Republicans are discussing what may happen if Donald Trump falls short of the magic 1237 delegates needed to secure the nomination.
Will 1236 be good enough? What happens on a second ballot? Will there be a revolt?
I wish I thought of this question, but I didn’t. Still a good one.
What will this make of the Vice-Presidential selection?
Normally, when a nominee has secured the nomination prior to the convention (at least presumptively), they have months to interview, vet and choose a running mate.
With all energy focused on delegates, negotiations and multiple ballot planning, how much time and effort will be put into running mate selection?
In fact, Trump, Cruz and others may announce a VP choice prior to any convention vote, in a way to woo an opponent’s supporters to switch. That happened with Reagan in 1976 and backfired in a big way.
Or it could result in a VP choice who was not fully vetted and tested (Hi Sarah) or might delay a VP announcement until later in the summer.
None of the three is optimal. A VP choice made trying to campaign for delegates isn’t likely to have broad mainstream appeal in the General Election. A delayed announcement loses all the benefit of the convention rollout of the ticket, and a rushed vetting process creates headaches for the fall.
Whose fault is this compounding mess? Your Republican National Committee and its dumb idea to stretch out and slow down the primary season with all of these proportional awarding of delegates. Give me the tried and true winner-take-all primaries and get this finished. Win the primaries = win the delegates. Lose a primary. No prize for second place.
Feel that way about the Electoral College, too. No proportions by district. You either win a state or you lose. Go big or go home.
Congrats, Priebus. You got what you wanted. A long primary season. Except none of us thought a long season meant July.
