Local GOP delegates attend state convention
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Nodaway County delegates Kathy DeVault, of Graham, and Ella and Joe Cornelison, of Maryville, pictured from left, are shown at the site of Saturday’s state Republican convention in Branson. The trio joined party representatives from across the state in electing 25 at-large delegates who will attend the GOP’s national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 18-21.
BRANSON, Mo. — Three delegates represented Nodaway County during Saturday’s state Republican convention in Branson.
Local GOP representatives in attendance included Joe and Ella Cornelison of Maryville and Kathy DeVault of Graham.
The Cornelisons and DeVault were chosen to represent Nodaway County in April during the county caucus and, in Branson, joined delegates from each of Missouri’s 114 counties and the City of St. Louis in electing 25 at-large delegates who will attend the GOP’s national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 18-21.
Nineteen of those delegates are pledged to presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, and six are pledged to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who has dropped out of the race.
The 25 at-large delegates will be joined in Cleveland by 24 of their fellow Missourians chosen at district conventions this spring. Fifteen of the district delegates are pledged to Trump, and nine are pledged to Cruz. Those chosen include conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, whose northern Missouri district includes Nodaway County.
Allocation of Missouri’s GOP delegates was based on results of a presidential preference primary held in March.
The remaining three members of the state’s 52-member national convention delegation are Missouri Republican Party Chairman John Hancock, state National Committeewoman Susie Eckelkamp, and state National Committeeman Lance Beshore.
In other business, delegates to the state convention elected two presidential electors to the Electoral College, ratified the selection of presidential electors chosen during eight congressional district conventions, and adopted the Missouri Republican Party platform.
Participants in April’s Nodaway County Republican Caucus had earlier submitted an amendment to an article of the platform titled “Educating Our Children.”
The article originally stated that the Missouri Republican Party “supports the authority of parents as the primary educators of their children in all matters, including morality, sexual orientation, and responsibility.”
Nodaway County Republicans suggested that the reference to “sexual orientation” was too narrow and requested the addition of the phrase “sexuality and sexual health.”
The change was accepted.
In addition to conducting party business, state convention delegates also heard from a number of GOP primary hopefuls, including candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and treasurer.
