Election Boot Camp: Understanding Convention Rules

The Democrats may be facing a fight with the Sanders campaign’s manager saying they're not going away, that the superdelegates don't get counted until Philadelphia, so they are going to hold out hope they can flip some. In the Republican camp, while Trump won't have opposition, he still has to win the delegates he needs to get to 1,237. Can something happen to prevent that? What happens to the delegates already pledged to people who aren't running? Can conservative groups that do not want to go along with the party’s “let’s unite” message do anything to challenge things? They might not have a say on the nominee, but what about the running mate? Or the platform? These are just a few of the questions addressed in the May 5, 2016 program on covering conventions, part of the NPC Journalism Institute’s Election Boot Camp series. Panelists included: Ben Ginsberg, who served as national counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaigns in 2000 and 2004, and the Romney for President campaigns in 2008 and 2012. He also is a former newspaperman, having worked for the Boston Globe and Philadelphia Bulletin before entering law school. Elaine Kamarck, is a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and author of “Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates." Carl Leubsdorf, Washington Columnist for the Dallas Morning News Herb Jackson, Washington correspondent of The Record of Bergen County, N.J., and Chairman of the Professional Development committee, served as moderator.