I pray for many things in life and one of the things I have been praying for lately is a brokered convention. The Republican Party has two candidates and John Kasich fighting amongst each other to reach the magic number of delegates it takes to claim the GOP nomination for President. As I write this article, Donald Trump leads the delegate count, but I am also praying he does not win (if you want to know why, read my letter to Mr. Trump). At the same time, I am also not a fan of Ted Cruz. With both of the real contenders out, it is only logical that I vote Kasich right? There comes a time in every election that you must call it quits and John Kasich’s time has come and gone so I will not be wasting my vote on him.
It seems that the Republican Party is stuck with three duds for candidates this election cycle. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, I guess I could bear at least four years of a Hillary Clinton Presidency, but I would not like it at all. What if, though, there was another way. What if there was a way that the Republicans could trade in their three bad eggs for one golden egg? What if the 2016 GOP convention ended in a brokered convention? Why am I asking you all of these questions when I could be telling you about a brokered convention?
Back to business. What is a brokered convention? Simple, at the Republican National Convention, the delegates vote for their assigned candidate. The magic number to reach is 1,237, but if the candidate with the most delegates does not reach the magic number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination a brokered convention follows. A brokered convention happens after the first round of voting when the delegates vote for the candidate they are told to vote for by the people of their state. After 1,237 is not met, the second round of voting happens, but, this time, the delegates are not tied to the candidate that they voted for in the first round. Simply put, Illinois voted for Donald Trump, so the Republican delegates from Illinois will vote for Trump in the first round of voting. If 1,237 delegates are not met, a brokered convention occurs and a second round of voting happens. The fun part about this second round of voting is that a delegate can vote for whoever they want. So, in theory, even though he dropped out and only had four delegates, Jeb Bush could be the Republican candidate for the November election.
To me, a brokered convention is the only thing that could save the GOP’s chance at the White House. Donald Trump is too much of a hardliner on some of his policies. Ted Cruz is not liked by his peers and was recently called “Lucifer in the flesh” by former speaker of the house John Boehner. John Kasich is... wait, who is John Kasich again? Will the republican convention end in a brokered convention? Does Jeb Bush still have a chance at the nomination? Will my dream come true with Marco Rubio accepting the Republican nomination? I guess we will find out when the GOP descends on Cincinnati.
