The leaders of the most conservative faction of House Republicans warned Republican Party leaders not to change the presidential nominating rules to block either front-runner Donald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz from winning in a contested convention.
“That would be a huge mistake,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said during an appearance on on C-Span’s Newsmakers program, which airs this weekend. “It would be completely wrong.”
Jordan said voters won’t approve of the Republican National Convention rules panel altering a current requirement that the nominee must have won at least eight states to be included on the nomination ballot.
The rules committee may eliminate the requirement, which would allow Ohio Gov. John Kasich on the ballot. Kasich has won only his home state but is favored by some in the party establishment over Cruz or Trump.
The rules change would also make it possible for delegates to nominate someone who has not won primaries or caucuses in any states.
“Even if it is technically allowed, it does become potentially rigging the game,” Jordan said.
Jordan noted that Cruz and Trump combined have won the majority of votes in most contests so far, and in some states the pair garnered up to 80 percent of the vote. Both are running as anti-establishment Republicans who promise to shake up Washington if elected.
Jordan said the convention’s rules committee should not change the eight-state requirement midway through the primary season, and compared it to a wrestling match altering the scoring system halfway through.
“In a year when 70 and 80 percent of the vote is saying we want something anti-establishment, that’s a problem,” Jordan said.
Jordan said if no candidate wins the nomination outright with 1,237 delegates, an open convention must be conducted “in a fair way,” and must avoid “a perception that the party hierarchy is trying to influence and change things so the two guys at the top are denied the nomination.”
Jordan said he has not endorsed any candidate and plans to support the nominee.
