Ron Paul's delegate insurgency has come to an end.
Supporters of the libertarian GOP presidential candidate fell short at
the Nebraska GOP convention, where they had hoped to out-organize Mitt
Romney's delegates and push Paul over a critical threshold that would
have ensured him an official presence and speaking slot at the
Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in August.
As the last state where Republicans will hold a convention in which
delegates are up for grabs, Nebraska represented the last chance for
Paul's supporters.
Instead, Nebraska Republicans elected a slate of Mitt Romney delegates
to represent the state in Tampa. Paul's supporters won only two of
Nebraska's 35 national delegates, according to Laura Ebke, who leads the
Nebraska chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus and who has led Paul
supporters' effort to win delegates in the state.
Along with delegates from Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, and Minnesota,
Nebraska could have given Paul the support of a plurality of delegates
in five states; according to Republican National Committee rules, Paul
would have been officially eligible as a candidate for the nomination at
the Tampa convention. Organizers would be required to grant Paul's
faction up to 15 minutes for a nominating speech.
To some extent, the outcome had already been determined: The voting
attendees of Nebraska's state convention were selected in a two-party
county-convention process that included registration on March 1 and
voting events June 1-10.
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