The Republican Party of Florida continues to plead with national party leaders to get the full slate of delegates seated at the national convention next month in Tampa.
But for now the state party is finalizing plans with its allowed 50 delegates and 48 alternates to be on the floor during the Aug. 27-30 convention.
The party hopes to have a final list of delegates in place next week, said RPOF Press Secretary Kristen McDonald.
Its been a long process, we just finalized it this week, McDonald said.Its just getting certified.
While holding out hopes that the national party will have a change of mind, the RPOF has held off on releasing the list that was shorted by Florida Republican Party Chair Lenny Curry, along with congressional district chairs. Officially the holdup has been the pending certification.
The party began working on the list in January, before the early primary was held that was deemed a violation of the national party rules regarding which states could hold the first primaries.
Florida was not supposed to hold what's known as a "winner-take-all" primary before April, with the top of the calendar primaries reserved for Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
State legislators that backed the move, including Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, continued to support the decision as the primary season continued beyond the Florida stop.
Florida leaders pointed to the swing-state nature of the Sunshine State and its diverse and large population as reflections of the importance Florida plays on the national stage.
The move resulted in the number of Florida delegates being cut from 99 and alternates from 96.
In addition to the cut in delegates, the Republican National Committee panel voted unanimously to shaft the state delegates by setting them up in a hotel some 40 minutes away from the convention center, placing their seating section toward the back of the room, and limiting the number of guest floor passes they could hand out.
The state faced a similar penalty in 2008, also for defying the national party and holding an early primary. At the 2008 convention, those who were cut from the delegate list were granted floor access as nonvoting honoree guests on the floor.
Since April, the state party leadership has been reducing its delegation list to conform to the halved count.
The full delegation was comprised of two delegates from each of the states congressional districts and at-large choices selected by the party chairman and approved by the RPOF board.
The new list will limit the congressional delegates to one per district.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
