Republican National Committeeman Bob Kjellander Urges Later Primary Date to Avoid "Choas"

Saying there would be “choas” otherwise, outgoing Illinois Republican National Committeeman Bob Kjellander spoke on behalf of punishing states other than Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that held primary elections before March.

Kjellander advocacy comes after Illinois Democrats moved the primary election to the first Tuesday in February, ostensibly to allow Barack Obama to get early delegates, but, in my opinion, really to make it more difficult to defeat legislative incumbents.

(Think how hard it is for a challenger or his/her volunteers to go door-to-door in snow or cold weather.)

In any event, the Republican National Committee voted for the position Kjellander supported.

To take effect, the convention would have to ratify the suggestion on September 1st.

That’s what Congressional Quarterly is reporting online.

And, state parties would have an incentive similar to the Democrats’ to obey this new rule. The approximately half of the states that held earlier primaries would lose 50% of their delegates’ vote if they did not change their laws.

There is precedent. This year, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Wyoming lost half their delegate strength because their primaries were before February 5th, the date of the Illinois primary.

If an Obama tsunami rolls over Illinois this fall, Illinois may not have enough delegates to worry about.

Tell me how many of these “bonus delegates” you think Illinois will be eligible for, assuming these 2008 convention rules are not changed:

Bonus Delegates

  • 2004 Bonus: States casting a majority of their 2004 Electoral Votes for the Republican Candidate receive 4.5 + 0.60 × the Jurisdiction’s Total 2004 Electoral Vote bonus delegates. Should the District of Columbia cast the majority of their electoral votes for the Republican Candidate, the District will receive 4.5 + (0.30 × 16) bonus delegates. (Round any fractions UP to the next integer.)
  • U.S. Senate: Award 1 bonus delegate for each Republican Senator elected in the 6 year period (November 5, 2002, November 2, 2004, November 7, 2006) prior to January 1, 2008. (Limit 2)
  • Governor States electing a Republican Governor between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007 receive 1 bonus delegate. (Limit: 1)
  • U.S. House: States electing Republicans to 50% or more of the their U.S. House seats between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007 receive 1 bonus delegate. (Limit 1)
  • One Chamber: States electing a Republican majority to one chamber of the state legislature (OR the legislature is presided over by a Republican) receive 1 bonus delegate. (Limit 1).
  • All Chambers: States electing a Republican majority to all chambers of the state legislature (or all chambers are presided over by a Republican) between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007 receive 1 bonus delegate. (Limit 1).

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