What Happens to Romney’s 25 Montana Delegates?

By Dillon Tabish, 2-07-08

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the winner of Montana’s first GOP caucus, announced today he is suspending his presidential campaign, telling listeners at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C., “I must now stand aside, for our party and our country.”

Romney supporters may be feeling left out in the cold, but what’s this mean for the 25 Montana delegate votes won on Super Tuesday?

According to Montana GOP Communications Director Chris Carter, there are several ways this could play out. If a candidate “withdrawals”, which Romney has not officially done yet, then all 25 of his delegates are released to cast their vote for whomever. If Romney’s campaign remains suspended, another way for delegates to vote for anyone they want would require Romney to write a letter saying so. The most common move is typically to send delegates to another candidate, which would mean they’d have no choice but to vote for that candidate, even if a different candidate received more votes from Montanans.

Does this news stymie the excitement of Montana’s first caucus? Carter doesn’t think so.

“Gov. Romney’s suspension today really illustrated the importance of [last Tuesday’s] caucus,” Carter said. “Normally, Montanans wouldn’t get a voice because, as it states right now, there is only going to be one candidate standing in June [when the previous Montana GOP primary was held]. “Even though our choice, as Montanans, for a nomination didn’t make it to the convention, we still had a say this time,” he said. “That wasn’t happening in previous years.”