ron paul louisiana – Ron Paul Second in Louisiana?

January 24th, 2008 · No Comments

ron paul louisiana – Ron Paul’s unmatched grassroots support was in evidence once again in an early caucus state, this time in the Louisiana district caucuses on Tuesday night. According to official but preliminary results, Ron Paul appeared to earn the second highest number of committed delegates to the state convention on February 16th, behind John McCain, although the totals in some districts could still move in Paul’s favor as provisional ballots are counted.

A press release by the chairman of the Republican Party of Louisiana took a much more welcoming and far-sighted attitude toward Ron Paul and his supporters than party leaders in some other states have done:

“I applaud the supporters of Congressman Paul for their enthusiasm and superior organizational ability,” Villere said. “Our Party needs the infusion of new activists who have both political skill and a passion for protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution,” he said. “I left the caucus with a renewed commitment to promote our core Republican principles of limited government and individual freedom, thanks to the zeal displayed by Congressman Paul’s Louisiana supporters,” Villere said.

McCain and Paul both finished behind a “Pro-Life, Pro-Family” slate of officially uncommitted delegates, which included a coalition of supporters of Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani, candidates who had either recently dropped out or who were unable to field a full slate as Ron Paul had done. It was unclear from the press release whether McCain’s current first place standing includes his share of the Pro-Life/Pro-Family slate delegates, or just his own individual delegates. Mitt Romney finished behind Ron Paul, with just “a handful” of delegates, according to the press release.

Ron Paul’s share of the 105 delegates to the state convention is still unclear, due to a significant number of provisional ballots (500-650) cast by his supporters. Many voters who changed their registration to Republican ahead of the state deadline did not show up on the voter rolls, and their eligibility will have to be verified before they are counted. With over 10,000 people participating in the caucuses, a few hundred extra votes might seem inconsequential, but because the delegates are elected per district, in some districts the results could change substantially.

Louisiana gets 47 delegates to the Republican national convention, but its selection process is perhaps the most arcane in the nation. Three of the delegates will be state party officials, as is the norm. 20 of the remaining 44 delegates will be pledged to the winner of the statewide primary on February 9th, but only if the winner receives at least 50% of the vote. Only in Nevada
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