Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight has been praised excessively by Trump, and the candidate has repeatedly cited Knight as a possible convention speaker, but he’s noticeably missing from the current roster.
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Back in July of 2014, when it was announced that Cleveland, Ohio, would be the host city for the Republican National Convention, few city leaders (or, for that matter, even gifted and prescient political media types) envisioned the fractured, fragmented, almost-unrecognizable-as-a-political-party political party that’s about to descend on the city by Lake Erie.
When the Trump campaign went looking for other IL delegates, it cast a wide net. On a 112-member rules panel dominated by party and Trump loyalists, the outcome was expected. Unruh joked as she introduced her amendment to the committee. Ted Cruz, a primary rival.
Intrigued by the candidate, Gaus connected with a couple of Trump Facebook groups and, to her surprise, someone on the Trump campaign reached out and asked her to be a delegate ahead of the March 15 IL primary.
Anti-Trump delegates also lost by a wide margin a previous vote affirming the binding of delegates.
While skeptics remain wary, all that, plus a fervent desire to defeat Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, are enough to quash serious talk of a coup.
“We are where we are”, rules committee member Curly Haugland, a longtime proponent of unbinding all delegates at the convention, told The Daily Caller during the recess. Maria Hough says casting her vote for Trump will be part of history.
Typically, convention delegates are a mix of congressmen, party leaders or other elected officials who have access to campaign accounts to cover these costs.
“I’m hoping we can go there and with the rules of the convention be able to nominate someone that can bring the party together, show some unity”, said Kimball. Trump called the system “rigged” early on, and his opponents have demanded more power for delegates to select a fresh nominee.
The closed-door negotiations were aimed at finding middle ground that would have increased the chances for a smoothly functioning four-day gathering next week, averting televised battles among members of a party whose likely presidential candidate has already proven divisive.
Republican ex-presidents George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush are not on the list, and neither is attending the convention, while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will also stay away after his own presidential bid failed to gain any steam and he had several harsh exchanges with Trump.
Among those involved in meetings were GOP Chairman Reince Priebus and Ken Cuccinelli, a leader of the conservatives who was an adviser to the defunct presidential campaign of Texas Sen.
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This year, McMorris Rodgers avoided saying whether she supported Trump for much of the primary season.
