Idaho’s delegation to Cleveland…
BSU Prof. Corey Cook, who’s at the GOP national convention in Cleveland, reports, “From what I've gathered so far, the Idaho delegation is uniquely congenial between the Cruz and Trump delegates.”
Idaho has 32 delegates, 20 of them for Ted Cruz, and 12 of them for Donald Trump, based on the state’s primary election results. Here’s a list:
Cruz delegates: State Treasurer Ron Crane (chair of Idaho’s delegation); 1st District Rep. Raul Labrador; former state Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian; Lora Gervais; Clinton Daniel; Bryan Smith; Viki Purdy; state Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg; Barry Peterson; former state Sen. Ric Branch, R-Midvale; Elaine King; Doyle Beck; Greg Ferch; former state party Chairman Norm Semanko; Vicki Keen; Trent Clark; Ruthie Johnson; Idaho GOP Chairman Steve Yates; Damond Watkins; and Cindy Siddoway.
Trump delegates: Former state Sen. Rod Beck, R-Boise; LeeAnn Callear; former state Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls; Jennifer Locke; Maggie Murphy; Redgie Bigham; former state Sen. Skip Brandt, R-Kooskia; Brent Regan; Megan Reichle; Rebecca Smith; Melinda Smyser; and Layne Bangerter.
There are also 29 alternates, 17 of them for Cruz and 12 for Trump. Among the alternates are outgoing Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene; Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Idaho Falls; former state Sen. Skip Smyser, R-Parma; Labrador chief of staff Doug Taylor; party activist and former Idaho Libertarian Party chief Ryan Davidson; and motorized recreation activist Sandra Mitchell.
Semanko, a member of the RNC Committee on Rules & Order of Business, wrote today in a column for Idaho Politics Weekly that Idaho’s delegates are clearly bound by state rules; the Cruz delegates must vote for Cruz, and the Trump delegates must vote for Trump. Plus, under state party rules, each presidential campaign is entitled to name 80 percent of the delegates it has earned, while working with the state party to select the other 20 percent. “Idaho has a very defined process and our marching orders are clear,” Semanko writes. “That's why we don't have much controversy. There’s really no mystery about how the delegates are going to vote, regardless of being ‘bound’ or ‘unbound’ under the Rules of the Republican National Convention.”
