Primarily Paul

I got an email back from the Republican Party of American Samoa. Since American Samoa isn’t a state they do not participate in federal elections, but can participate in the Republican National Convention. The email says all one has to do is be registered to vote, show up at the convention, join and pay dues at the door if not already a member, then vote for Ron Paul.

They are given 9 delegates to the Republican National Convention, if you add up the delegates from the other territories (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands), each of who get 9 delegates there is a total of 36 delegates to the convention from the four territories. They have more delegates than states like Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, or Oregon so they can play an important role in choosing the GOP nomination even though they can’t vote for them as President.

Are there Ron Paul supporters out there in the Pacific and Caribbean? I didn’t find any meetup groups. Leave a comment here if you live in a territory and support Ron Paul! I’m working on getting information on the other territories so stay tuned.

From: American Samoa GOP
Subject: Re: Delegates to Republican Convention
Date: October 23, 2007 2:30:32 PM GMT-04:00
To: Mark

There is no registration by party in American Samoa. All registered voters are eligible to participate in the February 23 convention. Those who attend will be required to join the party by paying party dues at the door if not already paid. Delegates and alternates will be selected from among Party members. The leadership or any qualified delegate may offer a motion to instruct the delegation on who to vote for at the national convention.

—– Original Message —–
From: Mark
To: American Samoa GOP
Subject: Delegates to Republican Convention
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:00:39 -0400

Hello,

According to the GOP website, American Samoa has 9 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention. Can you tell me how these delegates are selected? Is it through a primary or a caucus? Is it only open to registered Republicans? The date I have found for the primary/caucus is February 23rd, making the deadline to register January 23rd. Is there a separate deadline to change political parties?

Thanks,
Mark

PS: Puerto Rico is in a class of their own and I’ll cover them later. They have 22 delegates, combined with the other territories they have 58 delegates giving them power comparable to states like Indiana, Michigan, or New Jersey.