Local GOP picks alternate to national convention who favors Texas senator

Had Park County’s Republicans gotten a direct say on the party’s presidential nominee this year, they probably would have picked U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

On Saturday, a group of about 70 Republicans voted to send an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention who’s leaning toward Cruz, while the runner-up was a strong Cruz supporter. A woman backing businessman Donald Trump finished a distant third in the voting at the Park County Republican Party Convention.

The local GOP’s decision to send Powell resident and state Representative David Northrup to the convention will likely have little or no bearing on the presidential race because he is only an alternate. (Although he said he’d support Cruz, Northrup is officially undeclared.)

Park County was one of 11 Wyoming counties that did not get to elect an actual delegate to this year’s Republican National Convention, because it got to choose one four years ago. In the 12 counties that were allowed to elect a delegate, Cruz won nine, Trump one and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio one; the other delegate was uncommitted.

A presidential candidate needs to secure the support of 1,237 delegates at the national convention to win the Republican nomination.

Wyoming’s GOP will pick another 14 national delegates at its state convention in April. Around 500 Republicans from across the state — including a contingent of 30 Republicans from Park County — will choose those additional delegates.

There was no indication at Saturday’s meeting as to how the members of Park County’s delegation plan to vote at the state convention; they were basically the first 30 people who signed up to attend the state event.

Saturday’s event was the first time for Wyoming Republicans to officially express their feelings on the presidential race, but it didn’t offer a particularly clear picture of where Park County Republicans stand.

In running for the alternate delegate position, Northrup said his main priority is “somebody who can beat Hillary (Clinton),” though “my leaning’s toward Cruz.”

“It’s just so wild right now; we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Northrup said of why he was running as an uncommitted candidate.

Traveling to and attending July’s national convention in Cleveland is expected to cost each alternate and delegate around $3,000.

Powell resident Camara Clifton also ran to be the county’s alternate, pledging to be a committed, passionate advocate for Cruz.

“We have a chance this year — and maybe for the last time, in my opinion — to actually vote for a conservative who has the credentials to do the job,” Clifton said.

If no candidate manages to get the needed 1,237 delegate majority at the national convention, then previously-committed delegates can potentially become free to vote for whichever candidate they want. If that happens, Clifton said she’d work hard as an alternate to persuade delegates to change their votes to Cruz.

Meanwhile, Denise Shirley, who moved to Wapiti from California about nine months ago, ran as an alternate for Trump.

“I have come to Wyoming and I am watching the state fall apart in front of my eyes. I’m watching oil wells come down, people are losing their jobs left and right and we’re going to have foreclosures coming in,” Shirley said. “I just believe in Trump so much and his message of bringing jobs back into our country and that’s why I’m standing behind him.”

While acknowledging Trump “has some bad manners” and that she doesn’t always like the way he comes across, Shirley said she thinks Trump is “the one that’s going to dig us out of the hole.”

Harold Bjork of Powell rounded out the four-person race by running as an uncommitted alternate. Bjork said he appreciated Cruz’s values, Trump’s business ethics and Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s disposition and pledged to be a strong representative for Park County’s Republicans at the national convention.

On the first ballot, Northrup received 27 votes, Clifton 24, Bjork 11 and Shirley 10. Since a majority vote is needed, a second round of voting was held.

Bjork dropped out and on the second vote, Northrup received 38 votes, followed by 30 for Clifton and four for Shirley.

Most of the 72 Republicans who were allowed to cast votes at Saturday’s convention were precinct committee men and women, who were chosen during the 2014 primary election; others were picked during the precinct caucuses back on March 1.

The convention ran from 9 a.m. to a little past 5:30 p.m. at the Cody VFW. Most of the afternoon work involved tweaking the Park County Republican Party’s platform and resolutions. The platform — that is, the party’s basic beliefs — was condensed from a six-page document to a single page.

The 12 planks in the new platform say God  — and not the government — endows people their rights, affirms the “sanctity of human life from conception to natural death,” says marriage is only between one man and one woman, calls for an end to the judiciary’s ability to change laws and says all citizens are equal before the law. The platform also affirms the rights of individual states, parents and private property owners, religious freedom and the Second Amendment.

Party members narrowly rejected a suggestion that would have called for Wyoming to adopt a recall process for elected officials.