The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee (SEC) voted on Saturday to remove eight individuals who were elected as Trump delegates to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in the March 5 primary election in Tennessee.
The convention, which will formally name Donald J. Trump as the Republican Party’s nominee for President in 2024, will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 15 to July 18.
The individuals were removed by the SEC for not being “bona fide Republicans,” meaning they have not voted in at least three of the four most recent statewide Republican primary elections, according to the Bylaws and Rules of the Tennessee Republican Party.
The eight delegates were recommended by the Trump campaign to be placed on the ballot without a review to determine if they met that standard of “bona fide Republican” set forth in the bylaws. Some of the eight had voted in one of the four most recent statewide Republican primary elections while others had voted in two of the four most recent statewide primary elections.
The SEC also granted waivers to three Trump delegates and one Trump alternate delegate elected in the March 5 primary who were 20 years of age or less, as they were not eligible to vote in the last three of four statewide primaries due to their age. Those four will be attending the RNC in Milwaukee.
A source familiar with the proceedings told The Tennessee Star that four options were considered during the discussion about the eight Trump delegates who were ultimately removed.
Option 1 was to follow Rule D in the Rules and Bylaws and send only bona fide delegates and alternates to the RNC convention, while providing each of the non-bona fide individuals a guest pass to also attend.
Option 2 was to disregard the bylaws and send both non-bona fides and bona fides to the RNC convention.
Option 3 was to move the non-bona fide delegates down to the alternate positions, while moving the bona fide alternates up to the delegate positions.
Option 4 was to give the two non-bona fide 20 year-olds who were elected as delegates and had voted in two of the statewide primary elections a waiver, while also giving the non-bona fide 19 year-old who was elected as a delegate, and the non-bona fide 20 year-old who was elected as an alternate delegate a waiver to hold the positions they were elected for. Included in Option 4 was that all bona fide delegates would be approved. That means that the eight other non-bona fides were removed from the list of delegates.
As established in the bylaws, the Administrative Committee will fill the vacancies established by the removal of the eight non-bona fides who were elected as Trump delegates on March 5.
“Ultimately, after two rounds of voting took place, Option 4 was selected as the favored option of the State Executive Committee,” the source told The Star.
“All in all, the meeting was very civil and respectful of each other’s comments. The two Tennessee Highway Patrolmen assigned to the event left due to the level of professionalism that took place, and the lack of the much-anticipated fireworks,” the source concluded.
Saturday’s removal of the Trump delegates by the SEC is not the end of the delegate controversy.
General Counsel David Warrington with Dhillon Law Group, which represents former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, addressed next steps in a letter sent to Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden last week, as previously reported by The Star.
Warrington warned of the “organized effort to remove several Trump delegates and alternates from their duly elected positions.”
“The individuals who were elected to represent President Trump on March 5, 2024, as delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention are the only delegates and alternates that the Trump Campaign will recognize,” the letter said.
“All Republicans must cease any infighting and focus their attention on Joe Biden and the radical Democrats,” the letter added.
Jaclyn Colbeth, one of the eight Trump delegates removed by the SEC on Saturday, responded to the decision in a statement released late Saturday.
“This committee has a right to vote on rules of their choosing but I’m supremely confident that I will ultimately be seated and credentialed as a Trump delegate at the RNC Convention in Milwaukee,” Colbeth said.
“I was duly elected to this position by Republican voters across Tennessee and fully vetted by the Trump campaign,” she continued.
“I anticipate a swift resolution,” she concluded.
In January, the SEC voted in a specially called meeting to tighten the “bona fide Republican” rule, specifically making the rule effective immediately instead of enacting it in 2026.
As exhibited on Saturday, the bylaws allow the Tennessee Republican Party to reserve the right to “disqualify any individual from running as a Republican candidate if it determines the individual does not meet the standards or requirements” set forth in Article IX.
In other business, Beth Campbell and Oscar Brock were reelected to their seats on the Republican National Committee, representing the Tennessee Republican Party, for a third term.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore/The Star News Network CC2.0; “GOP Convention” is by Carol Highsmith/GSA CCNC2.0.
They tightened the rules for the “bona fide” status, yet chose to break the rules for term limits in order to re-elect their chosen ones. Hmmm
The “Qualifying Deadline” to appear on the ballot for the March 5th election for Delegates was December 14, 2023 at noon. The determination to have anyone removed should have been made then. There is no excuse for the voters being ignored because a few bad apples failed to understand or follow simple rules. While the “elected party leadership” should and does maintain authority. The proper execution of it’s responsibilities would have avoided this nonsense. The state legislature needs to consider cleaning up the primary voting process, County Party Leadership can help by closing their Primary Elections IAW State party by-laws. We the people must participate less our ability to self govern fail.
I call BS!!! This is a wrong minded decision and goeas AGAINST the WILL and results of the Republican electorate. The TRP protects itself from lawsuit by saying if you sue and lose, then you can’t run for office as a Republican for 10 years – quite the chicken-hearted deterrent.
The TRP DID NOT FOLLOW THE BYLAWS!!
“As exhibited on Saturday, the bylaws allow the Tennessee Republican Party to reserve the right to “disqualify any individual from running as a Republican candidate if it determines the individual does not meet the standards or requirements” set forth in Article IX.”
In reference to the above, “TO DISQUALIFY…FROM RUNNING…” shows that it has to occur PRIOR to the election. In fact, Section 2A states: Challenges must be made no later than five (5) days before the
deadline for removal of a candidate’s name from a ballot under TCA Section 2-5-204 or
other applicable statute, rule or regulation, or any other applicable deadline.” (while this is in the paragraph about challenges brought by voters, the timeline is referenced in subsequent sections).
In Section 2B: ” Any prospective candidate who is disqualified or challenged will
be notified by the TRP and may respond to the decision and/or challenge provided that
the response is provided to the TRP by its applicable deadlines”
Shame on the TRP for removing the delegates, who all received over 200,000 votes, for what appears to be the very thing the Chairman Scott Golden stated in a TNStar interview does not happen in TN:
“That’s one of the great things about Tennessee, is that we actually let you throw the names out there… we give the voters a chance to vote for who they want. Other states just do it in a smoke filled back room. That’s not what we do in Tennessee.” Scott Golden