Why Texas will matter in the 2016 Republican presidential race
Texas will be the first big state to vote in the 2016 presidential nominating process under new rules approved by the Republican National Committee, and it will be able to use a modified winner-take-all system in allocating delegates that will further enhance the state’s standing in choosing party’s next nominee.
“It’s very safe to say Texas has just become a major player in the 2016 primaries,” said Texas GOP Chairman Steven Munisteri, who helped craft the new rules as one of 17 members of special Rules subcommittee whose handiwork was approved by the full Republican National Committee at its recent winter meeting in Washington.
The new rules will shave months off the nominating process, move the national GOP convention up from the end of August to either late June or mid-July and impose severe sanctions in loss of delegates against any state that tries to jump the queue and join the four states – Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada – that are permitted to hold their primary or caucus before March 1, the day Texas and several other states are scheduled to vote.
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Moving up the national convention to either the week of June 27 or July 18 also has an added potential big side benefit for the Austin economy – the possibility of hosting the 2016 Republican state convention.
State parties are required to submit their list of delegates 45 days before the start of the Republican National Convention – or Friday, May 13, 2016, if the convention begins as early as June 27. (States with late primaries, like California and New Jersey, where Democrats can block a date change, get a waiver from the 45-day requirement.) The state party in Texas had scheduled its convention for the second week of June in Houston. But now, Munisteri said, the timing requires the party to move the convention to early May, which Houston cannot accommodate. He said the party would choose between Dallas and Austin as the substitute site. He said that while Austin has been unable to handle a convention of this size – with 18,000 delegates and alternates – the building of the massive new JW Marriott downtown is changing that.
More at http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/why-texas-will-matter-in-the-2016-republican-presi/ndDBP/ (subscription required).
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.
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