Bob Hargraves Elected At-Large Delegate to National GOP Convention
Press Release
May 16, 2008
The Massachusetts Republican State Committee elected Rep. Bob Hargraves Tuesday evening (5/13/08) to serve as one of the state´s 10 at-large delegates to the 2008 national Republican convention. The delegates vote in September to select Republican candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States of America.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won the Massachusetts presidential primary election, claiming six at-large delegates to Senator John McCain´s four. Though Romney conceded the presidential race in early February and has since endorsed and aided Sen. McCain on the campaign trail, the governor has not formally released his delegates. This assures the governor a voice at the convention. However, it complicated Tuesday´s delegate selection, requiring each candidate to choose between running as a McCain or a Romney delegate.
Both the Romney and McCain Massachusetts campaigns provided lists of favored delegate nominees, a further complicating factor in the selection process. Since Rep. Hargraves´ name was not included on either list, his nomination came from the floor at the meeting.
"I broke with tradition somewhat by taking a personal approach," said the seven-term member of the Massachusetts House. "I showed up at the meeting, greeted old friends and made some new ones, explained why I wanted to attend the convention and asked for votes. People like to see candidates in the flesh. That´s been a guiding principle in my politics."
The Republican National Convention convenes September 1st in St. Paul, Minnesota´s Xcel Energy Center and concludes on September 4th. An anticipated 45,000 delegates, alternate delegates, party officials, volunteers, members of the media, and convention guests will attend.
