Lotton: Convention crowd touched by Trump's appearance

On the third night of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Brad Lotton found himself in close proximity to the party’s nominee.

Lotton, a Havre resident and one of 27 delegates representing Montana at the convention, posted three photos and a comment on the Hill County GOP Facebook page of the billionaire Republican candidate and his family standing “immediately to the left of us” as Trump’s son Eric addressed the convention Wednesday night.

“Trump and his family came right down into the audience to listen to son Eric’s campaign talk,” Lotton said in his post.

Lotton said he thought such a move was unusual for a party’s presidential candidate.

“Usually these leaders are cowering behind security in safe locations,” he said. “Really touched the people in the area where we were to be able to look the family in the eye.”

It wasn’t the first time Lotton found himself in Trump’s orbit.

A photo posted May 26 on the same Facebook page showed Lotton standing in a crowd and holding a Trump campaign sign behind the candidate, who made a campaign stop in Billings before the state’s June 8 primary.

Lotton said that the family of Indiana governor Mike Pence sat with the Trumps in the audience.

Wednesday night marked the first major speech by Pence since he was tapped by Trump to be his vice presidential candidate last week. Lotton described Pence’s prime time speech as “unifying.”

Earlier in the night, Trump’s former primary rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had spoken before the crowd. He gave a speech slamming Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

However, Cruz did not openly endorse Trump telling those in attendance and television viewers to “vote their conscience in November.”

The lack of endorsement earned Cruz jeers at the end of his speech.

Trump is scheduled to address the convention and formally accept the party’s nomination tonight.