Michigan GOP changes delegate award after vote

Associated Press

LANSING, Mich.

Michigan GOP officials have raised a ruckus in the presidential race by awarding native son Mitt Romney 16 of the state’s delegates rather than the 15 it appeared he won in Tuesday’s primary election.

State GOP rules said two of the state’s 30 delegates would be awarded proportionally based on the statewide vote, while the other 28 would be awarded based on the results in each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. That would have given Romney and GOP rival Rick Santorum one delegate each, on top of the 14 each candidate won by splitting the congressional contests, resulting in a 15-15 tie.

The Michigan Republican Party Credentials Committee voted 4-2 Wednesday night, however, to reaffirm a rule it passed Feb. 4 giving both delegates to the winner of the statewide vote — in this case, Romney. It said a memo explaining the rule wrongly noted that the at-large delegates would be awarded proportionally.

The committee gave 16 delegates to Romney and 14 to Santorum.

The Santorum campaign said it would appeal the ruling and, in an email, referred to the turn of events as an “election scandal.”