# Might delegates to the Republican convention not actually be bound?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-delegates-to-the-republican-convention-not-actually-be-bound/749137>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [March 16, 2016, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-delegates-to-the-republican-convention-not-actually-be-bound/749137 "2016-03-16T04:04:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 3

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-delegates-to-the-republican-convention-not-actually-be-bound/749137/3 "2016-03-18T18:06:36Z")

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> [@Dopers. Would you be willing to sacrifice the democratic process to deny Trump the nomination?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-would-you-be-willing-to-sacrifice-the-democratic-process-to-deny-trump-the-nomination/748560/10):
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> They wouldn’t do it, but should the Rules Committee vote to unbind all the delegates I suppose they could. But that would require the majority of the delegates to agree to such a rule change and presumably if the Trumpians are in the majority they wouldn’t vote for such a rule change.

Don’t forget that many delegates bound to vote for Trump _will hate Trump_! In some states the delegates are chosen by the state Party; the Primary only determines for whom those invariant delegates are obligated to vote.

So there will probably be a Republican convention in which a majority are bound to vote for Trump … but a _majority do not want him to win the nomination_!

> [@Dopers. Would you be willing to sacrifice the democratic process to deny Trump the nomination?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-would-you-be-willing-to-sacrifice-the-democratic-process-to-deny-trump-the-nomination/748560/4):
>
> Nobody is proposing to sacrifice the democratic process. Either Trump has an outright majority on the first ballot or he doesn’t. If he doesn’t, he has no more claim to the nomination than Sarah Palin and the delegates can vote their collective will.

This viewpoint is much too black-and-white.

If Trump has 60% of the delegates’ votes there’ll be nothing to be done, but if he has just 52%, say, it would be easy for GOP lawyers to swing a few votes. If nothing else, bound delegates could simply violate their obligation (and be viewed as heroes by many).

But they probably won’t do it. Too much risk they’d further antagonize the masses. _And the same reasoning applies if Trump has 48% instead of 52%_ – many people would feel swindled if Trump were even near 50% and still denied.

(And if they don’t pick Trump, then whom do they pick? Cruz will be in a strong 2nd place, but he is also actively disliked. To pick someone “not on the stage” would be too blatant a repudiation of the process.)

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