Worried that outsiders will force the election of Donald Trump in Montana’s open June 7 primary, groups within the Montana GOP want out and are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent the state from stopping the party’s exit. On Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy ordered Montana to respond to the GOP’s argument by Tuesday. “When you talk about a presidential election, the Supreme Court has said open primaries cannot be required,” said former Montana legislator Matthew Monforton, lawyer for 10 Montana County Republican committees involved in the lawsuit.
Monforton further elaborates on the issue on the Republican Uprising website in a blog titled “The GOP’s Coming ‘Legitimacy’ Crisis Is a Result of Democrats Selecting Republican Delegates.” The delegates the party sends to the national convention are currently bound to the winner of Montana’s open primary at least through the first nominating vote at the convention.
The gist of the emergency application, Monforton said, is that in states with closed primaries, meaning only Republicans can vote for the party’s presidential nominee, the outcomes have been different than states with open primaries. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is winning in closed primary states, Monforton argues. TV celebrity and real estate magnate Donald Trump is winning in states with open primaries.
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