When the Rules Aren’t Conventional

The presence of “Trojan horse" delegates—or "double agent" delegates, as Donald Trump calls them—is not a new phenomenon at a Republican convention. There were many at the last convention during which a presidential nomination was contested.

That was in 1976. And guess what these delegates, pledged to one candidate but sympathetic to a rival, did? Not much. The delegates bound to President Gerald Ford but secretly in favor of Ronald Reagan didn't violate their pledge to vote for Ford on the first ballot. And Ford won.

But what was more revealing was the failure of a convention rule change that the Reagan forces figured would hurt Ford and catapult Reagan to the nomination. The change would have required Ford to name a vice presidential running mate—Reagan had already named one—before the vote on nominating a presidential candidate.

The Ford delegates who were pro-Reagan were free to vote for the change. Few did, but the exact number is unknown. How "these Reagan delegates in Ford clothing" voted was never recorded, Reagan biographer Craig Shirley wrote in his definitive account, Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All. Nor did they identify themselves publicly.

But there was another factor: Ford had his own Trojan horse delegates. "For example," Shirley wrote, "Indiana delegates were legally required to vote for Reagan on the first ballot, though most clearly favored Ford." In North Carolina, the opposite occurred. Reagan ally Tom Ellis took advantage of the opportunity to choose delegates. Ford had lost the primary but won delegates. Ellis installed Reaganites in all but two of the Ford slots.
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