MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Trump delegates to this month’s Republican National Convention are raising money in an effort to make sure the “regular folks” who are prepared to cast their ballot for the presumptive Republican nominee are not replaced by “elites” who may give their support to another candidate.
“We are your average Alabamians,” the delegates wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to raise resources. “You may know us from church, work, a Republican club, or you may not know us at all.
“Most of the delegates committed in October 2015 to run in the March primary, almost a year ago,” they continued. “Since then, unforeseen convention costs have emerged and most notably, financial situations have changed. It can be challenging for a retiree living on a fixed income, the young professional living month to month, persons with loss of income due to decrease in pay and family changes from divorce to infertility/adoption costs. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, we appreciate your generosity, of any amount. We expect each delegate to shoulder much of the costs of the trip but a little assistance for us would be most appreciated.”
The GoFundMe page, which was set up by Trump delegate Laura Payne, can be found here.
“As we have seen in Alabama and other states, Donald Trump has engaged many new voters and has reinvigorated many traditional voters,” said Payne, who serves on the RNC Rules Committee. “Because of the enthusiasm and excitement he has brought, many Trump delegates are attending the Republican convention for the first time.”
According to several Trump delegates Yellowhammer spoke with on Thursday, the GoFundMe campaign was a response to concerns about Trump delegates dropping out due to financial difficulties and being replaced by individuals who support other candidates.
A report in the Wall St. Journal titled “Anti-Donald Trump Forces See Convention Coup as Within Reach” has exacerbated those concerns.
Months after Donald Trump appeared to seal the Republican nomination for president, anti-Trump forces are making one last push to force a vote on the party’s convention floor that would throw open the GOP contest again.
It’s a long shot, but by some counts they are remarkably close to getting past the first hurdle next week in Cleveland.
Mr. Trump’s intraparty foes, led by a group of rogue delegates, are waging an intense behind-the-scenes effort to push the Republican National Convention’s Rules Committee for a vote on freeing delegates to back whomever they wish, rather than being bound to Mr. Trump.
The presumptive nominee’s team is fighting back just as vehemently, with an organized campaign of dozens of aides and volunteers. It’s a power struggle that has prompted threats of reprisals and left many Republicans anxious that it could hurt the party’s prospects in November.
“Donald Trump has inspired many normal, hard-working Americans across the country to engage in the political process for the first time,” said Chris Beeker, an Alabama Trump delegate. “These individuals deserve the opportunity to represent their peers at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and not be excluded because of exorbitant travel costs. The convention isn’t a place for just the party elites. It needs to be a place where the voices of all who are tired of the status quo and stand ready to fight to make America great again can be heard.
“We are raising money for the foot soldiers of the Republican Party, not the party elites,” he concluded. “This will be used to help those people who put up signs, not write checks.”
Trump won every county in Alabama and captured 36 of the state’s 50 delegates. The Republican National Convention is set to take place July 18–21 in Cleveland, Ohio.
