Though the Republican National Convention doesn’t start until next week, hundreds of journalists are expected in Cleveland later this week to cover what’s usually a dry-as-dust event: The Rules Committee. WKSU’s M.L. Schultze has more on what causing the huge interest.
Donald Trump has 250 more delegates than he needs to win the GOP presidential nomination – if all those delegates stick to the results of state primaries and caucuses. So the movement to stop Trump is trying to sway the 112 members of the Rules Committee to set the delegates free, allowing them to vote their consciences on the convention floor instead.
Kent State Associate dean Danielle Saver Coombs, who teaches politics and media, says it’s a long-shot in part because nearly half the Rules Committee members are Trump backers.
“And so those are people who are not going to say, ‘Yes, let’s unbind the delegates and see what happens.’ They’re people who are there who believe they should represent the voters in their states. They support the candidate themselves.”
But if just a quarter of the Rules Committee members agree, they could issue a minority report. And that would force the whole thing to a vote on the floor of the entire convention next week.
