Romney’s supporters controlling convention

TACOMA – Mitt Romney secured the Republican presidential nomination this week, which gave his Washington supporters firm but not quite complete control of the state’s convention Friday.

While Romney walked away with the vast majority of delegates elected in the state’s 10 congressional districts, supporters of Ron Paul waged successful battles to snag at least five of 30 delegates selected for the GOP national convention this summer.

Regardless of which candidate they support, however, all delegates are pledged to support the eventual nominee, and winning in November seemed to take precedence for most partisans seeking a trip to the national convention in Tampa, Fla.

Delegate selection was the main item on the Republicans’ agenda as both of the state’s major parties gathered for their conventions. Democrats started their convention in Seattle with a banquet and a speech from Newark, N.J., Mayor Corey Booker.

In Tacoma, Romney supporters combined with those of other Republican hopefuls like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich to produce a “unity” slate and won all three delegate races in Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District.

“The nation needs someone who will defeat Obama and get this country moving,” Spokane attorney Roger Reed said in the 30 seconds he was allowed for his nominating speech. He was one of three Romney delegates who won the 5th District slots on the first ballot.

John Christina, a Spokane Republican heading up the congressional district’s Paul supporters, said it was a simple matter of numbers. Romney forces had them in Eastern Washington, and the Paul supporters didn’t.

They’ll shift today to the platform and a focus on ideas, such as the economy and the erosion of civil liberties, he said.

State Party Chairman Kirby Wilbur, who is serving as the convention chairman, said the clash between Romney and Paul supporters was tamer than many intra-party clashes in the past. And compared to some of this year’s conventions in other states, where fist-fights have occurred and police have been called, the first day of the Washington convention was a model of decorum, he said.

There were parliamentary fights over credentials and rules that delayed the convention for several hours, but that’s standard fare for any state convention, he said.

“Their long-term goal is to have influence in the party,” Wilbur said of the Paul supporters. “If they cause too much trouble, it’s going to hurt their long-term goal.”