Franz to serve as delegate at national GOP convention.

Ray Franz

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

ONEKAMA — State Representative Ray Franz will be among the delegates representing  Michigan’s First Congressional District during the Republican National Convention to be held in Cleveland July 18-21. The First Congressional District includes the entire Upper Peninsula and about a third of the northern Lower Peninsula, including the northern portion of Mason County and all of Manistee County.

Franz, who is in his final term as representative to Michigan’s 101st House District (Mason, Manistee, Benzie and Leelanau counties), is one of three people who will serve as delegates at the convention. He said under the district’s rules, each of the three representatives will vote for one of the top three Republican candidates during the first nominating vote. Franz will be voting for Senator Ted Cruz.

After the first vote, if a candidate is not chosen, the delegates may vote for whomever they chose, Franz said. 

Franz said he is doubtful that any of the candidates, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz or Gov. John Kasich, will be able to earn the required 1,237 delegates to automatically receive the party’s nomination, therefore there will be a brokered convention. The last time the Republicans held a brokered convention was in 1952. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower had 595 delegates out of 1,206 in the first roll call.

In fact, Abraham Lincoln became the Republican candidate as a result of a brokered convention. In 1860, New York Sen. William H. Seward entered the convention as the prohibitive favorite, with 37 percent of the delegates. After three ballots, the convention settled on Lincoln, the distant second-place contender, who had only 22 percent of the delegates.

“I am almost sure that we will not select a candidate as a result of the first vote,” Franz said. “It’s very possible that no candidate will reach 1,237 delegates. We will see what happens when New York and California vote later this month.”