Georgia's Republican Party convention meets this weekend in Columbus. Some 5,000 GOP faithful from across the state are expected to pack the Columbus Civic Center.
They'll pick half the state's delegates to the national convention, to be held this fall in St. Paul, Minnesota. And, convention-goers will choose two representatives to the Republican National committee.
Josh McKoon, who chairs the party's Muscogee County branch expects over 1,100 delegates to attend. And, he says, factional politics could provide some surprises:
"I think there will certainly be a move by those that support Ron Paul to get some of their supporters on the delegate list representing Georgia. I know that's happened on the local level at earlier stages of this process, so that potentially could be something that could cause a little bit of a stir."But McKoon predicts a straightforward event, rallying behind presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain.
There is one stumbling block however.
McKoon says the elected delegates are pledged to former Arkansas governor and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee:
"...and unless he releases them from that, when they go to the convention, they'll be bound to vote for Huckabee on the first two ballots. Huckabee will have the lion's share of delegates coming out of Georgia..."This is the second time in four years the event has been held in Columbus, and is expected to boost the local economy.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of the presidential elections.
