The Massachusetts primary may be weeks behind us, but for Republicans here in the Bay State, the voting is not over. Later this month, nine caucuses will be held to elect most of Massachusetts' 42 delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
And these delegates, they’re not just check boxes on a ballot. To paraphrase a Massachusetts Republican icon, 'delegates are people, too.'
So just who are these 42 people? At this point, we don't actually know. They’ve yet to be selected. Or, to be more accurate, they've yet to be elected.
"We have a couple of different methods of electing delegates here in Massachusetts," explained Terry MacCormack, director of Communications for the Massachusetts Republican Party.
All but three of the delegates will be elected. The state party chair and Massachusetts' two Republican national committee members are all "automatic" delegates. 12 more delegates will be elected by a Republican state committee in May. But the majority of them – 27 in all – will be elected on April 30, at caucuses in each of Massachusetts' nine congressional districts. Each district elects three delegates and three alternates.
"We’re going to make sure that the actual people who are running for delegate are going to be chosen through a grassroots process," said MacCormack.
And so, who can run for delegate? And who gets to vote?
"Anyone who has been registered as a Republican by February 10, and continues to be registered as a Republican can attend the caucus or run for delegate. And we encourage them to do so," said MacCormack.
It's important to note that in Massachusetts, all 42 delegates, including the three party leaders, are bound based on the results of the primary. This year, 22 must vote for Trump, 8 for Kasich, 8 for Rubio and 4 for Cruz. At least on the first ballot. But how does that work, if the majority of the delegates are elected? Enter the allocations committee, a group comprised of members from the state party and representatives for each of the presidential campaigns.
"The allocations committee will determine, for example, that at the Second Congressional District caucus, say, that two delegates will go to one candidate and one delegate will go to another candidate," explained MacCormack. "Folks will know the slots that they’ll be running for if they choose to run for delegate at their local congressional district caucus."
Still, there is nothing in the rules that stops, say, a Kasich supporter for running for, say, a Trump slot. Sure, they’d have to vote for Trump on the first ballot, but after that, all bets are off. And if history is any guide, expect some gamesmanship at the caucuses, said Vincent Devito, an elections lawyer who worked for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and served as a delegate for Romney at the 2012 Republican National Convention.
"It got the highest of importance," he said. "You play every game of an election as if you’re 20 points behind and as if the doomsday scenario is going to happen."
Case in point: Four years ago, Romney earned every single one of Massachusetts' delegates in the primary. Still, says DeVito, when the caucuses to actually elect those delegates rolled around, the campaign spared no effort to ensure the delegates chosen were true Romney supporters. They identified loyalists and encouraged them to run for delegate, they did direct mailings trumpeting their delegate candidates, and even gave out stickers with their names on them that caucus goers could just stick on their ballots.
MacCormack says this year’s caucuses promise to be unlike anything they’ve seen before. Weeks out, there’s already a distinct buzz in the air.
"We’re seeing definitely more interest than we have in years past. Folks who are interested in attending caucuses, in running for delegate, in campaigns who are interested in organizing around these caucuses" he said.
Perhaps that’s due to the fact that these yet-to-be-elected individuals could be poised to play an outsized – even historic – role in selecting their party’s presidential candidate. And while the prospect of a so-called contested convention might be thrilling for pundits and political junkies, Devito, who's experienced party politics from the inside, sees it very differently.
"It’s not something that is worthy of a public viewing of the sausage making process," he said. "If anybody thinks [a contested convention] is a good thing for the political party, the political process. My opinion [is] they’re just not thinking straight."
Still, MacCormack says that on the state level, all the excitement is a good thing. And he’s confident that the Mass GOP will send a delegation to Cleveland that accurately reflects the will of the people.
"We think our plan makes sure that the people’s voice is heard in terms of this delegate selection process," he said. "It’s gonna be an exciting one. And we’re excited because it’s going to grow our party here in Massachusetts and that’s a great thing."
So for you card-carrying Massachusetts Republicans out there, get ready. You still have one more chance to make your voice heard this primary season.
