Thirty delegates were at stake in the Michigan Republican primary. Twenty-eight were decided based on congressional districts. Since Mitt and Rick split the districts, they split those delegates and won fourteen each.
Before the primary, Michigan said the remaining two “at large” delegates would be divided proportionately, so the actual results would give Mitt and Rick one each.
Rick has been running around calling Michigan a tie, because he believed he and Mitt each got fifteen delegates.
Not so fast. Now the Michigan GOP is awarding the two “at large” delegates to Mitt, an ex post facto change in the rules. Rick is accusing them of “political thuggery.”
They are depriving Rick of using the “tie” argument to bolster support heading into Super Tuesday.
Did the state party do this to punish Rick for his encouraging Democrats to turn out and vote in the primary? If they did, it’s absurd, since they’re the ones who established an open primary.
Did the state party do this because of Mitt’s muscle?
Whatever the reason, changing the rules after the fact is a tacky thing to do. Shame on the Michigan GOP.
Embattled Farmers 