By Brent Griffiths | [email protected]
OTTUMWA, IOWA — Mahaska County County Supervisor Mark Doland had to leave the 2nd District Republican convention for a wedding. Such absences occur during the ebb and flow of voting and debating that started early in the morning and stretched into the evening as the Sun began to set outside the community center perched on the Des Moines River.
But Doland was no ordinary delegate.
The story of this county official being almost immediately replaced, coupled with reports from across the state’s other three congressional districts, illustrates why Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was almost perfect on April 9.
Cruz finished the day with 11 out of 12 available slots to the national convention filled by allies. The Texas senator also holds the majority on a state party committee, which will elect the remaining 15 delegates. Iowa’s other three delegates are the state head and two Republican National Committee members.
Out of the hundreds in attendance in Ottumwa, Doland had been identified and printed on paper as someone who would back Cruz on a possible second ballot in the Cleveland convention and any that would follow.
The campaign for the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump knew what was happening after Doland left, though. All they had do was check their phones.
Initiated before delegates even stepped inside the Bridge View Center, Cruz loyalists set up a texting service that lit up phones throughout the day.
This seemingly simple solution illustrates why Cruz backers were able to almost sweep all of the available delegates in the four Iowa district conventions on April 9.
The service was not perfect. Based on interviews with Trump supporters, a number of them signed up for the service. But before the most important votes of the day, which determined who would go to Cleveland and even those for state party offices, a text went out.
At the 2nd District Convention, Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s campaign had one staffer who declined to name preferred delegates. Trump had a mostly volunteer run effort that fed on word of mouth and a hand-scrawled list of names that appeared like a homework assignment rushed before class.
In Ottumwa, only one of the original Cruz slate, state Rep. Greg Heartsill, made it to Cleveland. Amy Christen of Davenport, who expressed concerns about Trump filled the other spot. Former congressional challenger Mariannette Miller-Meeks also took a spot. She is maintaining her neutrality, which is a minor blip in a dominating show across the home of the first-in-the-nation caucuses for Cruz.
Why does this matter?
Iowa will send 30 delegates to the national convention, but because of the increasingly contested nature of the race, the Republican presidential nominee may not be chosen on the first ballot.
Should Trump or Cruz not reach a set number of delegates during the primary and caucus process, currently set at 1,237, the nomination would go to a second ballot.
This is an important distinction, because each subsequent ballot allows even more national delegates to vote their preference. Iowa delegates are bound to the results of the first-in-the-nation caucuses on the first ballot even for candidates no longer in the race, such as retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.