Sixteen Republicans elected to represent Massachusetts at the national convention in Tampa next month have filed a formal challenge with the Republican National Committee, saying they were unfairly disqualified based on state GOP leaders\u2019 concerns about their fealty to presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney.<\/p>\n
The group of delegates \u2014 originally supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul \u2014 were elected in April caucuses at which they unexpectedly defeated many of Romney\u2019s chosen delegates, but they have been since disqualified by state party officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn short, the Massachusetts Republican Party changed the rules,\u201d the delegates wrote in a letter to the national committee.<\/p>\n
The filing sets off a formal but uphill process for the would-be delegates, who hope to convince national party officials that they are being unfairly excluded from the Republican National Convention, to be held Aug. 27-30 in Tampa. An RNC committee is expected to consider the challenge by mid-August, but the party is not expected to make a decision until the week before the convention.<\/p>\n
Any appeal to that decision could be considered by the convention\u2019s credentials committee when the event begins.<\/p>\n
Friday and a committee spokeswoman declined to comment. A spokesman for the Massachusetts Republican Party referred calls to the RNC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis matter is currently before the RNC and we await their decision,\u201d spokesman Tim Buckley said.<\/p>\n
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In their letter, the so-called liberty delegates say they were duly elected in April, but disqualified after failing to provide timely affidavits pledging their support to Romney. They argue that the affidavits were not called for in state or federal rules and they received them \u201cless than one week before an arbitrary deadline\u201d to return them notarized \u2014 during the Memorial Day weekend.<\/p>\n