EP GOP leaders are pledged delegates, will vote for Ted Cruz at Republican convention
El Paso’s Republican delegates are making final preparations to attend the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland.
Nine El Pasoans will be attending the GOP Convention, which begins Monday.
“I think it’s going to be exciting,” said Adolpho Telles, Chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party and one of the three official delegates from the 16th Congressional District. “There’s going to be a lot of things going on but what I’m most excited about is this election that is coming up is going to have an impact on our nation for generations to come.”
Telles said this will be his first time attending a GOP national convention.
Apart from the three official delegates, there is a fourth delegate designated as a delegate-at-large. There are also four other alternate delegates and another El Pasoan on the operations staff already on site.
Bob Pea, the executive director of the El Paso County Republican Party, will also be heading to Cleveland as a delegate. He attended the last national convention in 2012 in Tampa.
“I don’t think anything in this convention will be boring from the time we get off the plane to the time we pack up and leave,” Pea said.
Before they arrive in Cleveland, there was already drama unfolding. A group called Unbound Delegates tried to get other national delegates to break away from who they were bound to vote for. This was a move designed to prevent presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, from gaining the nomination.
Neither Telles and Pea believe anything will come from that movement at the convention. Both men are bound to vote for Ted Cruz and will stick with their original vote.
“I am bound for Cruz because that is the way the citizens of El Paso voted,” said Pea.
“Everybody from the state of Texas signs a commitment that we will vote for who the population voted for in our congressional districts,” Telles said, “I’m committed to do that and I will do that.”
For those that are still undecided between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, both delegates stress how important it is to get out and vote and pick someone based on their values.
“My reaction is that they’ve got to make a decision,” said Telles, “They’ve got to choose the person that more closely supports their values.”
“It’s not about a person, it’s about the future of this country,” said Pea, “It’s about the direction that we want this country to take? Are we satisfied with what we’ve seen or do we think we can do better?”
