ron paul back in town

GOP in Missoula for Convention

By Matthew Frank, 6-19-08

The Montana GOP is in Missoula through Saturday for the state convention at the Hilton Garden Inn, and former presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul (who won the Republican primary in Missoula County and came in second statewide behind Mitt Romney) and former three-term Montana Senator Conrad Burns Rod Knutson are headlining. 

The party will be reviewing its platform, setting strategy and electing national convention delegates and national committee representatives. Click here for the convention schedule (PDF), which includes training workshops and additional speakers.

Paul and Knutson are set to speak beginning at 7:00 p.m. Friday.

Charles S. Johnson of Lee has more details on the event and the party’s strategy. And this:

David Hart, Paul’s Montana coordinator, said a number of Paul supporters will attend the convention. Many were elected precinct captains for the February caucus.

“We just want to let the party know we’re here to stay,” Hart said. “Some of the party thought we’d drop out after the caucus and after Dr. Paul dropped out.”

In a separate story, Johnson reports that…

Bob Kelleher, the surprise Republican U.S. Senate nominee, won’t be allowed to address the 400 delegates at the state GOP convention in Missoula this week, but he has been offered a side room for an hour to meet with anyone interested.

“We have limited time,” state Republican chairman Erik Iverson said Wednesday. “We are reserving it for our other statewide candidates.”

Iverson decided to offer Kelleher a conference room at the Hilton Garden Inn for an hour Friday afternoon, where the 85-year-old Butte lawyer can talk to anyone at the convention who ventures in. Kelleher also will have a table for distributing his campaign materials for his long-shot race against Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Baucus.

On holding the convention in Missoula, the party writes:

“(Missoula) has a legacy of being one of the most liberal parts of the state, but I think you are seeing some pockets of Republicanism emerge in Missoula County,” party executive director Jake Eaton said. Holding the convention in Missoula “helps some of those folks realize its OK to be a Republican in Missoula.”

Check back to NewWest.Net/Missoula over the weekend for coverage.

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