Free the Delegates explained

See main article: Stop Trump movement. Free the Delegates was an American political effort within the Republican Party, formed in June 2016 by delegate and Rules Committee member Kendal Unruh to the 2016 Republican National Convention (July 18–21, 2016) with the goal of nominating a candidate other than Donald Trump, who won a plurality of primary votes and pledged delegates.[1] [2]

By June 19, hundreds of delegates to the Republican National Convention had begun raising funds and recruiting members in support of an effort to persuade the party convention rules committee to free delegates to vote as they individually wished, rather than according to the results of state caucuses and primaries.[3] [4] [5] [6]

History

The movement was founded and launched in June by a delegate and RNC rules committee member, Kendal Unruh, with a nationwide conference call connecting 30 convention delegates in 15 states.[7] Less than a week later, the group's second phone conference included over 1,000 delegates, about 400 of whom were pledged to the movement.[6] [8]

Free the Delegates movement was started by eight time National Delegate and former RNC Platform Committee member, Kendal Unruh of Castle Rock, Colorado, who teaches high school government at the Jim Elliot Christian School in Denver. Unruh was a 2016 Cruz delegate for Colorado to the Convention and a member of the Rules Committee.[9] [10] [11] Unruh was the sponsor of the "conscience clause" in the RNC rules committee. The amendment was to codify the legal right of the delegates to unbind from the candidate(s) who had been selected in the primaries. She was quickly joined by fellow Colorado delegate Regina Thomson.[6] The movement was aided by Beau Correll of Winchester, Virginia, an attorney who was elected delegate to the Republican National Convention.

On July 11, Correll won a federal lawsuit in Correll v. Herring. The effect of the victory was to prevent state law from binding delegates.[12]

Organization

On June 24, 2016, Free The Delegates, a Super PAC, was officially formed by Beau Correll.[13] Regina Thomson is the Executive Director and Kendal Unruh acted as the official spokesperson.[14] The Free the Delegates PAC is an entirely different entity than the RNC Nomination challenge named Free the Delegates, founded and organized by Unruh.

Texas financier Chris Eckstrom, founder of Courageous Conservatives PAC, a PAC that supported the Ted Cruz presidential campaign, and political consultant Steve Lonegan of New Jersey ran an independent effort focused on denying Trump the Republican nomination.[15] [16]

Republican support

Speaker of the House and Chairman of the 2016 Republican National Convention Paul Ryan appeared to give Free the Delegates tacit support when he appeared on NBC News' Meet the Press on June 19. During this appearance, he responded to a question about the group by saying, "It is not my job to tell delegates what to do, what not to do, or to weigh in on things like that... They write the rules. They make their decisions ... the last thing I'm going to do is weigh in and tell delegates what to do."[17]

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker gave support to Free the Delegates, telling the Associated Press, "I think historically, not just this year, delegates are and should be able to vote the way they see fit."[18]

Former U.S. Senator Gordon J. Humphrey endorsed the efforts of Republican delegates to organize against Trump, saying he would work to encourage New England delegates to oppose Trump.[19]

Arizona Senator and 2008 nominee John McCain told The Weekly Standard, "I think it's up to every delegate to make up their own minds."[20]

Responses

Columnist Eric Zorn argued that the group is the GOP's "last, best hope", arguing that while it may split the party, nominating Trump may also split it.[21]

The Chicago Tribunes editorial board called for a mutiny of GOP delegates, writing, "The GOP has never nominated someone so plainly unprepared, unreliable and unfit."[22]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Epstein. Reid. Anti-Donald Trump Forces See Convention Coup as Within Reach. 7 July 2016. Wall Street Journal. 6 July 2016. 23 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211023100804/https://www.wsj.com/articles/anti-donald-trump-forces-see-convention-coup-as-within-reach-1467839099. live.
  2. News: O'Keefe. Eric. Release the GOP Delegates. June 20, 2016. Wall Street Journal. June 13, 2016. June 18, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160618031528/http://www.wsj.com/articles/release-the-gop-delegates-1465769777. live.
  3. News: O'Keefe. Ed. Anti-Trump delegates raising money for staff and a legal defense fund. June 20, 2016. Washington Post. June 19, 2016. August 16, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160816094913/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/19/anti-trump-delegates-raising-money-for-staff-and-a-legal-defense-fund/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_pp-trumplegal1110p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory. live.
  4. News: LoBianco. Tom. Election Results2016NationWorldOur Team RNC delegates launch 'Anybody but Trump' drive. June 20, 2016. CNN. June 18, 2016. December 24, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201224203257/https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/17/politics/delegate-unbinding-effort-organized. live.
  5. News: Jaffe. Alexandra. Campaign to Dump Trump at Republican Convention Emerges. June 20, 2016. NBC News. June 17, 2016. June 17, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160617231059/http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/campaign-dump-trump-republican-convention-emerges-n594766. live.
  6. News: O'Keefe. Ed. New anti-Trump movement grows to include hundreds of GOP delegates. June 21, 2016. Washington Post. June 20, 2016. February 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210228051237/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-anti-trump-movement-grows-to-include-hundreds-of-gop-delegates/2016/06/20/88fb25cc-36f7-11e6-9ccd-d6005beac8b3_story.html. live.
  7. News: O'Keefe. Ed. Dozens of GOP delegates launch new push to halt Donald Trump. June 21, 2016. Washington Post. June 17, 2016. June 17, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160617190847/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dozens-of-gop-delegates-launch-new-push-to-halt-donald-trump/2016/06/17/e8dcf74e-3491-11e6-8758-d58e76e11b12_story.html. live.
  8. Web site: Virginia Law Binding State Delegates to Donald Trump Thrown Out - ABC News. ABC News. 2020-06-28. 2020-11-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108090430/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/virginia-law-binding-state-delegates-donald-trump-thrown/story?id=40503352. live.
  9. News: Skovira. Kristen. Colorado woman wants other Republican delegates to dump Donald Trump; Free the Delegates 2016. June 20, 2016. The Denver Channel. June 18, 2016. November 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211106212055/https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/colorado-woman-wants-other-republican-delegates-to-dump-donald-trump-free-the-delegates-2016. live.
  10. News: Epstein. Reid. Stop-Trump Groups Fail to Get Traction. June 20, 2016. Wall Street Journal. June 12, 2016. June 18, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160618031528/http://www.wsj.com/articles/release-the-gop-delegates-1465769777. live.
  11. News: Burleigh. Nina. Senator Murphy gun control filibuster. June 21, 2016. Newsweek. June 21, 2016. August 29, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160829073246/http://europe.newsweek.com/trump-republicans-cleveland-convention-472862. live.
  12. Web site: Schleifer . Theodore . RNC delegate files lawsuit in order to avoid voting for Donald Trump . CNN Politics . June 24, 2016 . June 27, 2016 . November 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211106215634/https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/24/politics/rnc-delegate-lawsuit-donald-trump . live .
  13. Web site: Free The Delegates . . June 23, 2016 . June 27, 2016 . May 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210506024537/https://ballotpedia.org/Free_the_Delegates . live .
  14. Web site: Free The Delegates . . August 12, 2016 . August 12, 2016 . August 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190827060109/https://www.facebook.com/freethedelegates . live .
  15. News: Rubin. Jennifer. A Republican delegate revolt becomes more likely. June 21, 2016. Washington Post (blog). June 21, 2016. May 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210506181522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/06/21/a-republican-delegate-revolt-becomes-more-likely/. live.
  16. News: Potter. Matt. San Diego's GOP big-money trash angel wants to dump Trump 0 Dump backer and trolley builder part of cash movement behind Courageous Conservatives. June 27, 2016. San Diego Reader. June 20, 2016. August 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200814060409/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/jun/20/ticker-san-diegos-gop-trash-angel-dump-trump/. live.
  17. News: Phillips. Amber. Paul Ryan: 'It's not my job to tell delegates what to do'. June 21, 2016. Meet the Press (NBC News). June 19, 2016. September 10, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180910231856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/19/paul-ryan-its-not-my-job-to-tell-delegates-what-to-do/. live.
  18. Web site: Scott Walker Says GOP Delegates Should Feel Free to Depose Trump. New York Magazine. June 21, 2016. June 22, 2016. Eric. Levitz. February 17, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170217083637/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/walker-gop-delegates-free-to-vote-against-trump.html. live.
  19. News: Cheney. Kyle. Isenstadt. Alex. Trump's stumbles fuel convention delegate revolt. 24 June 2016. Politico. June 22, 2016. 24 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160624025620/http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/donald-trump-delegate-revolt-224634. live.
  20. Web site: McCain: Delegates Free to 'Make Up Their Own Minds' on How to Vote at Convention. 28 June 2016. The Weekly Standard. 28 June 2016. 6 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160906012826/http://www.weeklystandard.com/mccain-delegates-free-to-make-up-their-own-minds-on-how-to-vote-at-convention/article/2003065#.V3LDx9CZ-aQ.facebook. live.
  21. News: Zorn. Eric. GOP's 'Free the Delegates' effort to stop Trump could use some superpowers. June 21, 2016. Chicago Tribune. June 21, 2016. April 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190421110404/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-delegate-revolt-gop-no-trump-perspec-zorn-0622-md-20160621-column.html. live.
  22. News: GOP's 'Free the Delegates' effort to stop Trump could use some superpowers. June 23, 2016. Chicago Tribune. June 23, 2016. April 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190417221106/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-donald-trump-republican-convention-delegates-mutiny-edit-20160621-story.html. live.

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