Lotton heads to GOP convention solidly behind Trump

Longtime Hill County Republican activist Brad Lotton will go the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next week strongly committed to Donald Trump and against any rule changes that might deny Trump the party’s nomination.

Lotton, finance chair of the Hill County Republican Party, said in a July 9 post on the party’s Facebook page, that he stands behind Trump.

“While everyone in our party doesn’t like or agree with Trump’s methods, he is the guy who has won the Republican primaries with over 13.5 million votes,” Lotton said.

To do otherwise, he added, would not make sense.

Most people who reacted to the post agreed with Lotton’s stance.

“You have our support Brad,” said Rita Richman of Harlem in a comment to the post. “Better Trump than Hillary!”

Trump won Montana’s June 8 Republican primary with 115,594 votes, and Hill County overall with 1,347 votes or 76 percent of the vote.   

Still, Lotton said, he has been receiving a flurry of emails and messages including an image he posted from Delegates Unbound, a group that urges delegates to “choose your values and vote your conscience” by voting for an alternative to Trump to be the party’s nominee.

But Lotton said that party rules in many states such as Montana dictate that delegates must vote for the winner of their state’s primary or caucus.

Montana has 27 delegates, all but three of whom are bound and therefore must vote for the winner of the primary on the first ballot. The chair of the state party party as well as the national committeeman and national committeewoman from each state are delegates by virtue of their position and are free to vote for whomever they choose.

All Montana delegates can vote for a different candidate on later ballots.

Republicans in Montana have been divided by Trump. Though Rep. Ryan Zinke and Sen. Steve Daines have openly endorsed the outspoken real estate mogul and former reality television star, others such as former Republican National Chair and Montana Gov. Marc Racicot and former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill have said they will not vote for Trump.

Lotton heads to Cleveland today for the convention, which begins Monday.