 |
| Runco |
(Email Him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)
State Board Of Education candidate Bill Runco's role in the 2012 "deleGATE" drama is coming back to haunt the popular 12th Republican Congressional District Chair.
Runco, a former State Representative and Judge, sided with the Mitt Romney faction in a controversial vote awarding the Michigan native what some viewed as an "extra" delegate. Runco says Romney's extra delegate was in accordance with the rules.
According to reports:
"Michigan GOP officials have raised a ruckus in the presidential race by awarding native son Mitt Romney 16 of the state's delegates rather than the 15 it appeared he won in Tuesday's primary election.
Michigan has 30 delegates to the party's national convention. State GOP rules said two of the delegates should be awarded proportionally based on the statewide vote, according to a party memo shared with the campaigns. The other 28 would be awarded based on the results in each of the state's 14 congressional districts.
Under these rules, Romney and GOP rival Rick Santorum's would split the delegates, with each getting 15. However, the Michigan Republican Party Credentials Committee voted 4-2 Wednesday night to give 16 delegates to Romney and 14 delegates to Santorum.
Committee members said the Feb. 7 memo was incorrect. Instead, they said, a new party rule adopted Feb. 4 was intended to award both statewide delegates to the statewide winner.
The Santorum campaign said it would appeal the ruling and, in an email, referred to the turn of events as an "election scandal."
"Clearly, Romney was very disappointed after spending a fortune to end up with a tie in the delegates in his home state. And now, clearly, somebody is trying to change the rules after the election to help Mitt Romney," said Santorum campaign senior adviser John Brabender.
Those changes were never communicated to the campaigns, however, and some party officials were still saying Tuesday that the two at-large delegates would be awarded proportionally.
"Regrettably, there was an error in the memo drafted and sent to respective campaigns. It is clear now that the memo did not properly communicate the intent of the committee," Anuzis said. "Could you interpret it both ways? Yes. But this is what we decided."
Besides Anuzis, those voting "yes" were Michigan GOP Chairman Bobby Schostak, party Co-Chairwoman Sharon Wise and former state Rep. Bill Runco, who endorsed Romney in a Feb. 20 press release. Neither Schostak nor Wise has endorsed a candidate."
Runco tells WMP that Romney won the statewide popular vote, that's why he voted that way.
"My memory is murky on this, however for the 2012 Credentials Meeting, I recall that the rules as I understood them required the statewide delegates be given to the person that won the popular vote in Michigan, and I voted accordingly," Runco said.
