Republicans in Massachusetts are making moves to protect Donald Trump from primary challenges by changing a system that may have benefited the president’s insurgent 2016 run.
The Massachusetts Republican Party approved a new 2020 plan last week that would award all party delegates to the winner of the state’s primary, a departure from previous policy that awarded delegates on a proportional basis.
The plan is the latest example of the state’s Republican Party chairman, Jim Lyons, pushing a shift in policy for the party in Massachusetts.
Before the rule change was approved, at least two state committee members spoke out against the rule while more than a dozen spoke in favour.
The new rule would only allocate the full delegate count to a candidate if they received more than 50 per cent of the vote in the state.
Critics of the measure have said that it would inappropriately protect the president from a potential primary challenge, but Mr Lyons has said it helps the state party to focus on gaining momentum in state and local elections.
“We want to keep the emphasis on trying to protect all of our elected officials in the Statehouse and to trying to add more seats in the Legislature,” he said, according to Politico. “Local town committees will be more focused on trying to elect state representatives and state senators.”
The measure, if replicated across the country, could insulate the president from any sort of challenge from fellow Republicans, like Bill Weld.
Mr Weld, who is the only prominent Republican to announce a challenge so far, faces an uphill battle but could secure some sway if he manages to attract some delegate support before the 2020 Republican National Convention.
