Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich's presidential bid stands to get a big boost from a decision by the state's GOP leadership to designate Ohio's March 15 primary as a winner-take-all event.
According to Cleveland.com, the decision Friday means the primary winner will have the support of all of Ohio's 66 delegates and 63 alternates at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
Former Ohio House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, a member of the state central committee and one of Ohio's delegates to the Republican National Committee, said adopting the winner-take-all format gives Ohio a bigger voice in the selection of the ultimate nominee.
"We have the ability to do this. In my opinion we have the obligation to do this," she tells Cleveland.com. "We are one of the key states."
Two other big states, Florida and Illinois, also have March 15 primaries, and both will be in the winner-take-all format, Cleveland.com reports.
RNC rules require any primaries held before March 15 have to award delegates on a "proportional" basis, Cleveland.com notes. Earlier this year – months before he announced his White House bid – Kasich signed legislation moving Ohio's primary to March 15 from March 8.
Not everyone in the state GOP's central committee was happy with the idea of the new format.
"If we change this, we will be disenfranchising voters in Ohio in their choice for president," member James Horton complained. "The way I see it, the only thing we're benefiting here is a candidate. We're not benefiting the voters."
Under Ohio's proportional system in 2012, Rick Santorum got 21 of Ohio's 66 GOP delegates – even though Mitt Romney won the statewide primary vote, Cleveland.com notes.
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