WASHINGTON — Members of the Republican National Committee voted Thursday to split Maine’s delegation to the national convention, apparently awarding roughly half of the state’s 20 contested delegates to Mitt Romney and half to Ron Paul, a Maine party official said.
Charlie Webster, chairman of the Maine Republican Party, said the RNC Committee on Contests had hoped that Maine’s contingent of 20 Paul delegates would agree to the split after the committee found serious problems in the delegate-selection process.
But the Paul delegates rejected the deal, so the RNC committee went ahead and named the individuals who will represent Maine on the floor of the Republican National Convention, Webster said.
Ten of the names on the RNC's list are delegates who were elected by Paul supporters during the Maine GOP convention in May, including Gov. Paul LePage. But the RNC's list includes 11 new delegates, including such prominent members of the Maine GOP as Secretary of State Charlie Summers and Attorney General Bill Schneider.
The RNC committee's action to split the delegation appears unlikely to placate Maine’s Paul supporters, who have held firm to their assertion that all 20 delegates were rightfully elected and should be seated at the national convention.
"I'm going to Tampa and I expect to be seated as a delegate," said Matt McDonald, a pro-Paul delegate from Belfast who did not make the cut on the RNC's list. "I was fairly elected as a delegate by Republicans in the state of Maine," adding that he feels "betrayed a bit by my party, by the RNC."
The RNC's Contests Committee has recommended splitting the delegation after considering a challenge filed by two Maine Republicans. Jan Staples and Peter Cianchette, both Romney supporters heavily involved in GOP politics in Maine, challenged the legality of the 20 Paul delegates last month, arguing the delegates were improperly elected at a state convention that was marred by illegal votes and parliamentary violations.
Webster said the Contests Committee concluded "there were so many mistakes made by the party, by the credentialing committee and by the chairman of the convention ... that it wasn't a legitimate election."
The Paul delegates now have the option of appealing the Contests Committee’s decision to the convention’s Credentials Committee, which is expected to meet later Thursday. Paul supporters have said they would take their case to the convention floor on Monday, if necessary.
Stavros Mendros, a former Maine House member and Paul delegate who is already in Tampa, said he was disappointed with the RNC's decision. But Mendros, who would still serve as a delegate under the RNC plan, said he hopes the Credentials Committee will side with the original 20 Paul delegates. Mendros is a member of the committee.
