West Virginia GOP Convention Details

On what is being termed "Tsunami Tuesday", February 5, 2008, West Virginia Republicans will open a new chapter in the state's political life with the state's first-ever Presidential Nominating Convention. At the Charleston Civic Center, over 1400 delegates from across the state will gather to award a presidential candidate West Virginia's at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

One significant milestone in the convention calendar was reached on September 1; ten candidates, including all four "first tier" candidates, registered with the West Virginia Republican Party to participate in the convention. Now, the process turns to delegate selection.

Delegates to the state convention are selected in three ways; first, all voting members of the State Executive Committee, including county chairmen, are delegates. Second, each county executive committee names 12 delegates from among their number to serve as delegates. If a county committee has less than 12 members, that committee may name others to fill those slots. Finally, each county is awarded additional delegates based upon the number of registered Republicans in the county, with a further bonus for counties where President Bush won a majority of the vote in 2004.

The delegates based upon Republican registration, and those based upon voting for Bush in '04, are elected by the public. The election of delegates by the public has two components; first, an on-line vote. If someone wishes to vote for their county's delegates on-line, they must contact state party headquarters in Charleston between October 1, 2007 and November 30, 2007 to register. They will receive a secure username and password to use when they cast their vote between January 1 and January 14, 2008. The second component to the vote is the optional "county caucus". The county chair in each county decides whether to have a caucus, at which Republicans can vote for the delegates from their county. The caucuses must be held between January 1 and January 15, 2008, and anyone who has registered to vote online is ineligible to vote at the county caucus.

If someone is interested in running for delegate to Charleston, they have to file a certificate of candidacy with the state party between November 1 and November 30, 2008 and pay a $25 registration fee. Those fees will in large measure cover the expenses of the convention. Candidates for delegate can declare a presidential candidate preference, in which case the preference will appear beside that candidate's name on the county ballot.

In all, the state convention format represents a dramatic departure from past methods of selecting delegates to the national convention. Gone are the days of endless primary ballots with the names of dozens--or more--who want to go to the national convention. This new method promises to be simpler, more interactive, and more rewarding to those campaigns who have the best organizational skills--not necessarily the most money.