#GAGOP Takes Measures to Keep Proposed National Convention Delegate Names Secret

At the Georgia Republican Convention in Augusta, there are three major items on the agenda. Delegates will be asked to vote on who should represent the state as National Committeeman and National Committeewoman, they will vote on a number of resolutions, and they will be asked to select 31 delegates to the Republican National Convention to be held in July in Cleveland, Ohio.

Back in April, when Republicans held their district conventions, no one knew who the presumptive presidential nominee would be, and supporters of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump did their best to make sure supporters of their candidate would represent the Peach State in Cleveland. Now that Donald Trump has locked in the number of delegates to win the nomination on the first round, you might think that who will go to Cleveland would be of less importance, and you would be wrong.

There are 195 people who have applied to go to Cleveland, a number which, we are told, does not include Governor Nathan Deal. A source familiar with the proceedings in Augusta told GeorgiaPol that the party expects each individual nominated as part of the slate could be challenged on the convention floor.

That slate will be chosen by the convention’s Nominating Committee, which has yet to meet. The committee will have its first meeting this morning at 10 AM in one of the headquarters Ramada Hotel’s conference rooms.

According to an individual familiar with the committee’s plans, the committee will adjourn to an undisclosed location. Security will be present to ensure no one gets in, or presumably out. The committee will work out its slate, and may not return to the convention center until it’s time to present the nominees on Saturday afternoon. The goal is to make sure the proposed names of the delegates aren’t leaked prior to their announcement on the convention floor, presumably to make it more difficult to develop challenges to individual nominees.

Will the unusual effort at secrecy be successful? That remains to be seen. But it does show that Georgia Republicans are doing their best to avoid a hijacked convention.

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