Becoming a Delegate or Alternate to the National Convention, July 18 -21 in Cleveland, Ohio, takes planning, time and your own funding of approximately $3000 of travel and convention costs.

National Delegates and Alternates are nominated and voted on at each Congressional District’s convention (3 elected per District) and an additional 11 are nominated and voted on at the State Convention.  Before the conventions, those interested must complete a formal application to be a National Delegate, thus there will be no nominations taken from the floor without a formal application having been submitted.

Here are the requirements as issued by the Minnesota GOP for potential Delegates:

“A potential candidate to serve as a delegate or alternate from Minnesota to the 2016 Republican National Convention must be selected by a vote of Republican delegates elected at either their respective congressional district convention or the state convention.

Voting is conducted by secret ballot, and the nomination process for becoming a candidate for national delegate is governed by the convention rules.

Timing of election of Minnesota’s National Delegates

• Each congressional district will elect three (3) national delegates and alternates at a convention held on Saturday, April 23 (CD 3) and Saturday, April 30 (CD 5).
•  The deadline to apply to run for national delegate for the Third Congressional District is April 18, 2016 at 3:00 PM.

• The Fifth Congressional District is accepting applications for National Delegate right through the start of their Convention, April 30.
• The state convention will be held on May 20 and 21, 2016, and will elect eleven (11) at-large national delegates and alternates.
• The deadline to apply for an at-large delegate spot is Thursday, May 19^th at 8:00 pm.

 Requirements for candidates for National Delegate:

A candidate for national delegate and/or alternate to the Republican National Convention must be a resident and registered voter in Minnesota.

A candidate for national delegate is not required to be a delegate to any convention – they can register for the convention and run for a national delegate position.

Each candidate for national delegate must declare which candidate’s delegate slot they are running for, and may only appear on the ballot for one candidate’s delegate slot.

Each candidate must apply to the Nominations Committee of the congressional district convention or the state convention, and agree to and submit both

1) the 2016 Republican National Convention Delegate and Alternate Delegate Self-Nomination Form, and

2) the Affidavit of Agreement to the Rules for the 2016 Republican National Convention.”

Once again, be aware that all Delegates & Alternates are personally responsible for their own convention expenses, including the cost of travel, lodging, and food. One should count on $2500 - $3000 in expenses, including $350 due at the time of selection. These initial funds help cover event expenses.

If you are interested in receiving and submitting a Self-Nomination Form and Affidavit of Agreement, and learning more about the application and interview process, as well as the Rules as they pertain to the Congressional Districts, please contact Barb Sutter at [email protected], or call 952-835-8917 for further information. Barb is on the CD 3 Executive Committee, but is also happy to connect you with CD 5 if that’s your Congressional District.