PROVIDENCE, R.I. _ Rhode Island supporters of President Donald Trump are pushing the state Republican Party to change its rules to help guarantee he receives all its primary delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Concerned about potential dissent from Trump critics on the convention floor, the Trump campaign this year has been pushing for states across the country to move away from awarding delegates proportionally, based on their share of the primary vote, to a winner-take-all system. Heeding this call, Massachusetts made the switch to an all-or-nothing primary in the spring.
The Rhode Island Republican Party's central committee is expected to set its rules for the upcoming presidential primary in September, and former party chairwoman and House minority leader Patricia Morgan is among those pushing for the party to award all its delegates to the president.
Winner-take-all "does make sense for me when we have an incumbent Republican president," Morgan said Friday. "When there is not an incumbent, maybe proportional makes some sense, but when there is an incumbent, you want to support the incumbent."
The Rhode Island GOP has switched between the winner-take-all and proportional delegate system over the years. The party jettisoned proportional for winner-take-all before the 1996 presidential primary, in which Bob Dole won the GOP nomination. By the 2008 primary, won by John McCain, the party had switched back to proportional.
Morgan was chairwoman of the party from 2002 to 2006 and said she disagreed with the decision to switch back to proportional delegates.
"Whenever you have an incumbent, you want to put them in the strongest position possible going into the convention and into the generation election, especially in a climate that is so polarized," Morgan said. "I know there is a desire by the (national) Republican Party to have a unified front and they have communicated that to the state party.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld is challenging Trump for the Republican nomination, but is a distant long shot, even in New England.
In 2016, Trump won 12 of Rhode Island's 19 delegates to the GOP convention. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich received five delegates and Sen. Ted Cruz got two.
Rhode Island Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Cienki could not be immediately reached Friday, nor could Ashley Walukevich, Trump campaign regional director of delegates.
Rhode Island House GOP leader Blake Filippi said he was aware the presidential primary delegate issue was being debated within the party, but hadn't been focused on it and hasn't taken a position.
Morgan said she is "absolutely interested" in the role of Trump campaign state committee chair, a position held in 2016 by fellow unsuccessful candidate for governor Joe Trillo.
