IN Focus: Indiana GOP chairman says delegate process isn’t rigged

POSTED 8:50 AM, APRIL 24, 2016, BY DAN SPEHLER

INDIANAPOLIS (April 24, 2016) - Indiana's 57 GOP delegates have officially been named, and their vote will likely matter a lot more than yours when Republicans gather later this year at their Presidential convention in Cleveland.

The delegates are a who's-who of big name Republicans, from current and former Indiana lawmakers to local mayors to party officials.

And with this year's Republican race still very much up in the air, the delegate process is getting more scrutiny than ever before, with many supporters of Donald Trump calling the system "rigged."

In the video above, state GOP chairman Jeff Cardwell talks about the process, denying Trump's assertions that the deck has been stacked against him in the Hoosier state.

Here's how it works in Indiana:

30 delegates are 'bound' (or required) to vote for the statewide winner of the May primary. If Trump wins Indiana, those 30 delegates have to vote for Trump on the first ballot at the convention. The remaining 27 delegates are awarded by congressional district -- three delegates from each of Indiana's nine districts are required to vote for the winner of their respective congressional district.

But if no candidate earns a majority of delegates (1,237 delegates) on the first ballot, the delegates chosen to represent Indiana will be free to vote for whomever they prefer.

And that's why many Trump supporters are crying foul- they feel the delegates chosen in Indiana and many other states are largely anti-Trump, GOP establishment figures.

Some of those delegates say they've already been sent threatening e-mails from Trump supporters.

But many of Trump's opponents say there's nothing "rigged" about the process- they say Trump's campaign team simply didn't organize quickly enough to work the system properly.

So who are Indiana's delegates? The list includes three automatic "RNC" delegates:

  • State party chairman Jeff Cardwell
  • RNC member John Hammond (one of Indiana's two representatives to the RNC)
  • RNC member Marsha Coats (wife of U.S. Senator Dan Coats, who endorsed Marco Rubio)


Here are the 27 "statewide" delegates required to vote for the statewide winner on the first ballot:

  • Jim Bopp (nationally-known Boone Co. attorney who represented Marlin Stutzman in last month's ballot battle, Right to Life attorney, also argued Citizens United case before Supreme Court)
  • Josh Claybourn (Warrick County)
  • Bill Davis (Allen County, former state represenative)
  • Daniel Dumezich (Lake County, former state represenative)
  • Rex Early (Trump's Indiana campaign manager, former state party chair, ran for governor in 1996)
  • Dennis Flynn (Lake County)
  • Samuel Frain (Hamilton County)
  • Anne Hathaway (former RNC chief of staff, staffer for VP Dan Quayle, her firm was hired to help run John Kasich's Indiana campaign)
  • Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb
  • State Sen. Erin Houchin (congressional candidate in Indiana's 9th district)
  • Tom John (co-chair of Marco Rubio's Indiana campaign team, former Marion Co. party chair)
  • State Sen. Luke Kenley (Hamilton County)
  • David Lasco (Lake County)
  • Thomas Longest (Boone County)
  • Josh Marshall (Marion County)
  • Michael McDaniel (former state party chairman)
  • Frederic Mills (Morgan County)
  • Kelly Mitchell (state treasurer)
  • Mike Murphy (former state lawmaker, former Marion Co. party chair, 'IN Focus' panelist)
  • Matthew Morgan (Hamilton County)
  • Denise Pence (governor's sister-in-law)
  • Melissa Proffitt (former Marion County vice-chair)
  • Congressman Todd Rokita (who previously endorsed Marco Rubio)
  • Edwin Simcox (Hamilton County, former secretary of state)
  • Curt Smith (Indiana Family Institute, RFRA supporter, former Congressional staffer)
  • P. Eric Turner (former Indiana lawmaker who stepped down after ethics complaint)
  • Thomas Wheeler II (Boone County)


And here are the 27 delegates required to vote for the winner of their respective congressional districts:

  • James Snyder (District 1)
  • Dan Dernulc (District 1)
  • Rebecca Holwerda (District 1)
  • Rudy Yakum (District 2)
  • Carol McDowell (District 2)
  • Larry Garatoni (District 2)
  • State Sen. Travis Holdman (District 3, author of this year's controversial civil rights bill)
  • Barbara Krisher (District 3)
  • Kyle Babcock (District 3, claims he has already received threats from Trump supporters)
  • Craig Dunn (District 4, claims he has already received threats from Trump supporters)
  • Secretary of State Connie Lawson (District 4)
  • Barbara Knochel (District 4)
  • Kyle Hupfer (District 5)
  • Jim Brainard (District 5, Carmel mayor)
  • David Brooks (District 5, husband of Congresswoman Susan Brooks)
  • State Rep. Randy Frye (District 6)
  • John Meredith (District 6)
  • Tara Armstrong (District 6)
  • State Sen. Pat Miller (District 7, jokingly told Politico she supported Tom Selleck for President)
  • Jefferson Shreve (District 7, former City-County council member, State Senate candidate)
  • Jennifer Ping (District 7, Marion Co. chair)
  • Rick Martin (District 8)
  • Brenda Goff (District 8)
  • William Springer (District 8)
  • Jamey Noel (District 9, Clark Co. Sheriff)
  • Beth Boyce (District 9, Johnson County chair)
  • State Rep. Eric Koch (District 9)

http://fox59.com/2016/04/24/in-focus...s-isnt-rigged/