Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan S
Is it possible for a new candidate to throw their hat in the ring at this stage, or have we already passed some kind of deadline?
|
The answer, from what I gather, is complicated.
On the one hand, because of filing deadlines for the primaries, it is too late for any candidate to get on the ballot in enough states to win the nomination in the traditional way.
But, I think that if no candidate has a majority of delegates, then the delegates at the convention, after the first vote, can change votes to try and come up with a consensus nominee.
Now, because conventions are basically infomercials for candidates these days, the GOP wants to have its nominee locked up well before the actual votes at the convention. So, the powers that be would have to work behind the scenes to get the candidates supporting enough delegates to all agree on a nominee (say, a Palin or a Jindall).
Of course, that has the problem of making the whole system look rigged and possibly pissing off the voters in the early states who voted for Romney or Gingrich and now feel disenfranchised.
So, I would imagine that the hope of the GOP bigwigs is that either Romney or Gingrich or Santorum wins this "on the merits" and makes the whole discussion moot.