Midstate delegate selection process getting serious

While presidential candidates continue their battles, another important process is playing out behind the scenes across Georgia: the selection of delegates.

This summer, the Republican and Democratic candidates will be officially nominated at their respective party's convention. But this weekend, the majority of people who will cast their support for presidential hopefuls will be selected at various meetings throughout the state.

Georgia delegates are chosen at meetings based on U.S. congressional districts. The delegation process can be a serious -- and entertaining -- affair, party officials say.

Lately, the buzz in GOP circles has been whether some delegates will switch allegiances to try to prevent Donald Trump from getting the minimum of 1,237 delegates needed to win his party's nomination. While the process follows an order at the beginning, it could become a free-for-all if a candidate doesn't have enough votes the first time.

"At the (Republican) National Convention, delegates are bound during the first ballot," Georgia Republican Party spokesman Ryan Mahoney said in an email. "After that, they can vote for whomever they want. Thus, the importance presidential candidates are putting on ensuring 'their supporters' are delegates and alternates."

The nomination process could get tricky if a candidate does not receive enough support on the first ballot, said Calvin Palmer, interim chairman of the Bibb County Republican Party.

"If Trump prevails and gets the most votes but doesn't get to 1,237, (some delegates) could switch or someone like Marco Rubio could stand up and say 'I want all my delegates to commit to Trump' or 'I want all of them to commit to (Ted) Cruz.' The talk is this thing will blow up and Cruz and Trump people will walk out. Then it could be a (John) Kasich or (Jeb) Bush that pulls it together. I don't see that happening, but it could."

Georgia will send 76 delegates to the Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 18-21. That includes 42 district delegates -- three delegates (and three alternates) from each of the 14 districts, as well as 34 at-large or statewide delegates.

The at-large delegates are selected through a series of conventions ranging from the precinct meeting, county convention and state convention, according to the Georgia Republican Party.

Nominating committees pick the district delegates, but there's also a process in which someone can challenge a selection.

"You can actually challenge a person on that slate and campaign against them and say 'I think I'm a better delegate than them,'" Palmer said.

In Georgia, the Republican Party isn't required to release the names of delegates or alternates, Mahoney said.

DEMOCRATS' PROCESS TAKING SHAPE

This weekend, five people -- four Hillary Clinton supporters and one Bernie Sanders backer -- are expected to emerge as delegates following the 2nd Congressional District meeting, said Kattie Vinson Kendrick, that district's chairwoman. The meeting is being held at Albany Technical College in south Georgia.

The 29-county district includes a swath of Bibb County as well as Peach, Macon and Crawford counties.

The scene at that meeting could be hectic, as candidates bring in voters to help secure a selection. In 2012, Kendrick said bringing in a bus load of voters from Peach and Macon counties played a role in her being chosen to attend the Democratic National Convention. This year's national convention will take place from July 25-28 in Philadelphia.

The district meeting can have all the earmarks of a campaign rally. Colorful signs are often used to stand out. Candidates have two minutes to make a speech. But much of the legwork has taken place before that day.

"Prior to the election, normally people would send out emails that say 'I'm running. They do the full gamut just like a real campaign," Kendrick said.

But there are some people who don't understand, she said.

"Just like the presidential candidates are trying to influence voters, you really need to influence the (delegation) voters before the election," Kendrick said.

For the Democratic presidential candidates, there are 117 delegates up for grabs in Georgia. That breakdown includes 67 from the district level, 13 political or elected officials chosen at the district level, and 22 at-large delegates that will be selected by a state committee in June. Georgia will also have 15 superdelegates dawn from a pool of members of Congress, governors, former presidents and vice presidents, and members of the Democratic National Committee.

The selection process is also broken down in areas such as gender to ensure a diversity of representatives, and there are goals the Democratic Party tries to meet based on race, age, sexual orientation and disability.

John Swint, chairman of the Bibb County Democratic Party, will be among the delegate hopefuls attending the meeting in Albany.

Swint, a Clinton supporter, said being a part of the delegation is a way to show how strongly a person supports his or her candidate -- and the pride they have for their party.

The delegation selection meetings can be eventful -- or sometimes drag on awhile.

"It sometimes gets to be tedious," Swint said. "If it's a great turnout, then it can take a long time or it can be very quick. It just depends. There's just no way to know how passionate some of these people will be."

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Midstate delegate selection process getting serious ."