Recap of The 2024 Missouri Republican State Convention
Missouri Conservative Grassroots Makes a Stand!
Convention Recap
It was quite the day at this year’s State Convention. The grassroots’s victories at the congressional conventions must have caught the GOP establishment’s attention. State Chair Nick Myers and State Committee man and woman Gordon Kinne and Carrie Almond pulled out all the stops to try and win. They said that Donald J. Trump had endorsed them, and they sent out messages from Senator Josh Hawley and every one of Missouri’s GOP Congressmen. Many Delegates complained that Nick Myers illegally used phone information that delegates were required to provide to send out many text messages urging them to support the establishment candidates. So, many of the grassroots delegates were already unhappy before arriving at the Convention.
Videos Texted to Delegates
Why the trump endorsment was Disingenuous
Two sources close to Donald Trump explained how these endorsements are made. The endorsements come from the Trump Campaign and are issued by mid-level staffers. Donald Trump does not review them directly. They are made to individuals who donate to the Trump Campaign at a predefined dollar amount. Anyone donating at that specific level could obtain a similar endorsement. A similar deceptive endorsement was touted at the congressional conventions where establishment types called their slate of delegates to the National Convention the “Trump Approved Slates.” The grassroots members didn’t take these tactics well, and for the State Convention, nearly 200 delegates showed up in shirts with “Trump Approved Delegate” on them and a copy of Donald Trump’s signature.
the Credentials debacle
The Convention was scheduled to begin at 9 am. Anyone not in line was supposed to be turned away. Given that most delegates had taken advantage of early registration the night before, it should have been easy and quick to pass out the remaining credentials and start the Convention. The State Party had received all the delegates’ names eight weeks before the Convention. They had more than enough time to verify they were voters and residents of the State of Missouri. So, all they needed to do on the day of the Convention was to print the list of delegates, sorted by congressional district and county, verify each delegate’s photo ID, check their present, and give them their credentials. We are talking about a straightforward process.
As delegates entered the Convention Center and found their way to their assigned sections, it quickly became apparent that something was wrong. Everything stopped after the opening prayer, pledge of allegiance, and National Anthem were completed. A little time passed, and then Nick Myers, who was the temporary chair, came to the podium and said it would be a few more minutes while the credentials committee finished their report.
A few minutes turned to an hour, then two and three. The delegates became restless and angry. Finally, Nick Myers announced that we would have to do the credentialling “old school,” meaning a roll call due to a technical glitch. He then stepped down as temporary chair and turned it over to the temporary parliamentarian, who began to call the roll. It was quickly realized that he was missing many counties from his list, which was impossible because many of them had printed badges that were given to them when they registered early that day or at early registration the night before. After even more confusion, they finally agreed that the delegates had been properly seated, and the Convention could start nearly 4 hours late.
Sophia Shore elected permanent chair!
It had been expected from all the endorsements that Nick Myers would run to become permanent chair of the Convention, but after the disastrous start, it was clear that he would have no chance to win. So, the establishment decided to run Eddie Justice as their candidate for chair. The delegates were told they should vote for him because he had experience, and the caucus he ran was completed in 56 minutes. This is another example of how out of touch the establishment truly is. The grassroots delegates were not interested in a rubberstamp Convention; they came to represent the people of Missouri, which sent them to the Convention.
The grassroots nominated Sophia Shore, a rising star in the movement who had successfully won the chair of the CD4 congressional Convention and helped restore the Vernon County Delegates that the party had attempted to exclude. She showed that she was prepared. She had hired a nationally known Parliamentarian. She explained how she would run a fair, effective Convention.
When it came time to vote, Nick Myers said he wanted a secret ballot. The grassroots delegates began to boo loudly. A motion to do that was soundly defeated, and when the vote for the permanent chair was finally conducted, Sophia Shore WON 465 to 365. It was 1:50 pm at this point. People were hungry but wanted to make up for all the lost time. Sophia Shore proposed that lunch be reduced to 30 minutes, and the delegates approved.
A Fresh Start!
From the moment Sophia Shore became chair, the Convention changed drastically for the better. She started moving through the work at hand:
• Jodi Widhalm (Jodi Grace) was elected secretary.
• State Representative Mazzie Christenson was appointed vice chair.
• Bev Ehlen and Joe Brazil were elected electors (over 70% of the room stood in support of them)
• David Lightner defeated Gordon Kinne for RNC Committee Mand for Missouri 508 to 235
• Dr. Maryam Mohammadkhani defeated Carrie Almond 488 to 251
• The grassroots slate, “Truly Grassroots for Trump,” is headed to the National Convention.
The Platform
After completing that work, it was time to finalize the 2024 Party Platform. Starting at the county caucus, Missourians had worked hard on submitting amendments that they believed would strengthen the Platform. Many were approved at the congressional Conventions and forwarded to the State Platform committee, which largely ignored the work of the people. The only way to rectify this situation was to reject the Platform Committee’s draft. Rejecting the Draft Platform did not mean starting from scratch. It allowed the delegates at the State Convention to vote on amendments. The grassroots delegates had formed their own Platform Committee in the prior weeks and looked at all the amendments passed at the county and congressional levels. They combined similar amendments and, in the end, came up with 27 amendments for the delegates at the State Convention to consider. The delegates approved all but a few, and a few others brought in by individuals were also approved.
The delegates were just a vote or two away from approving the amended Platform and closing the Convention. It was 7:45 pm, and the delegates had to leave the convention center by 8 pm. They had time to complete their work despite the long delay at the start. Rumors started circulating that the hotel was towing cars, and some people left to check. When they tried to return, some were denied access. As the day passed, others left due to fatigue or long drive times back home. Regardless of the reason, Representative Dan Stacy called a point of order and asked if there was still a quorum. A count was made, and there were not enough people in the room for a quorum. The chair had no choice but to adjourn the Convention at that point.
The aftermath
To further anger the grassroots, the Chair of the Missouri Republican Party issued the following statement:
In response to Nick Myers's statement after his complete incompetence in getting delegates seated resulting in 5 hour delay, Act4mo.org, as well as Freedom Principle MO called for him to resign as chair of the Missouri Republican Party.
The Path Ahead!
Senator Bill Eigel has sent a letter to the Missouri Republican Party asking them to recall the state convention to complete the 2024 GOP Platform. Despite an over four-hour delay, the delegates were minutes away from ratifying the amended Platform when a quorum was lost.
Here is Senator Eigel’s letter to the Missouri Republican Party:
Since Senator Eigel’s letter was released, County Central Committee’s from around the state begain issuing their own calls for the Delegates to be Recalled and the work of the convention to be completed!
