The Inside Edge is always happy to help our good friend Paul Mulshine, which is why there were no complaints when his February 5 column on the idea that Mitt Romney’s campaign can run their own delegate slate in June and effectively bypass the winner-take-all system appeared to mirror a similar column on this site six days earlier.  After all, Mulshine is a better writer, and he did use the s-word. 

But one word of caution to the man who sits on the right side of the Star-Ledger:  be careful when you let C. Richard “Dick” Kamin, a man of limited intellectual capacity and even less influence, spin you on a story – especially one the ex-Motor Vehicles Director read on PolitickerNJ.com.

Jersey GOP primary fight may be just beginning

Posted by pmulshin February 05, 2008 9:41PM

Perhaps you voted for Barack Obama in the New Jersey Democratic primary Tuesday.

Would you like to vote for Mitt Romney in the New Jersey Republican primary in June?

You could. Or at least you could vote for Romney delegates, which has the same effect.

It's weird. But then weird things happen when you start screwing with the primary schedule.

New Jersey's politicians did that this year in an attempt to make our primary more relevant. In prior years our presidential primary elections were held in June. A voter could choose candidates for the local borough council right up to the highest office on Earth.

But the presidential race was usually over by the time we got to vote, so the Trenton crowd figured they'd fix that by moving the primary up to the first Tuesday in February. That worked okay on the Democratic side. The Dems are having a nice, close race and I imagine you can cut the tension with a knife at the state headquarters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

But here at Mitt Romney headquarters at the Red Oak diner in Hazlet, the only thing you can cut with a knife is a pork chop. Romney got blown out by John McCain in the GOP primary, but his supporters aren't upset about it. The Democrats chose their delegates tonight, but on the Republican side the vote was little better than a beauty contest. Theoretically, John McCain won all 52 delegates that the state GOP will send to the convention in Minneapolis this summer. In reality, 49 of those delegates won't be chosen until the June primary. And the Romney people say they intend to file a slate of delegates for June.

That would mean a real race for the Jersey delegates to the national Republican convention will be in June. At the top of the Republican ballot will appear the names of a slate of Romney delegates, which will vary from district to district. The McCain people would also have to file a slate. Perhaps even Ron Paul will file a slate if he's still in the race by then.

Theoretically those delegates are pledged to vote for McCain. But if the entire slate decides to go for Romney, the only sanction would be a tongue-lashing from the state Republican Party and a ban on running for delegate again. Big deal.

Those delegate slates don't have to be filed till April, so the Romney people have plenty of time to get on the ballot.

And you also have plenty of time to change your registration. The mere fact that you voted for Democratic delegates on the first Tuesday in February doesn't mean that you can't vote for Republican delegates on the first Tuesday in January. This may represent a first in American politics. No one in the diner can think of a prior example.

The possibilities are endless, says Dick Kamin, the former co-chair of the state GOP who is on Romney's New Jersey steering committee. Democrats could switch parties by the thousands just for the fun of voting in the GOP primary.

In any event, says Kamin, the Romney people are determined to file a slate. So for the New Jersey Republican Party, the fun may be just beginning.
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New Jersey's beauty contest could prompt a credentials fight in Minneapolis

January 31, 2008 - 12:12pm

By Wally Edge

While John McCain is now the favorite to win New Jersey’s February 5 winner-take-all GOP primary, supporters of Mitt Romney believe New Jersey could still be in play in June --  if the Republicans have not yet selected a presidential nominee.

New Jersey Republicans are not electing delegates next week; delegates will run in the June 3 primary, and according to state party rules, are obligated to vote for the winner of the February 5 primary on the first three ballots. 

But a key Romney backer in New Jersey notes that Romney could still file a slate of delegates to run in the June 3 GOP primary.  That could create the possibility of a legal challenge to the New Jersey winner-take-all plan, since the Romney supporter says Republican National Committee rules don’t recognize the binding of delegates.