Rep. Mike Kelly Explains Pennsylvania Delegate Selection Process, Calls for Unity

Delegates David Goldman AP
David Goldman/AP

Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Kelly explained the Pennsylvania GOP’s delegate selection process and called for party unity Saturday when he sat down for an exclusive interview with Breitbart News Saturday SiriusXM host Matthew Boyle.

Pennsylvania has been receiving an unusual amount of scrutiny in the media given its complex delegate selection process. Kelly said:

Though 71 delegates are at stake in Pennsylvania, just 17 are bound by party rules to support the candidate who wins the primary here. The vast majority, 54, will be up for grabs when they arrive in Cleveland to help choose a nominee.

As Kelly explained, the 17 bound delegates are made up of 14 that are picked by party leaders “to go and vote in Cleveland the will of Pennsylvania.” The other three of the 17 delegates are made up of the state party chairman, plus the state’s two members of the Republican National Committee. Those 17 are bound to vote for the candidate who wins statewide in PA on Tuesday. Additionally, said Kelly, “Each of our districts have the ability to elect someone to go and represent them.”

Given PA’s 18 congressional districts, that means there will be an additional 54 delegates, three from each district. “Those delegates,” said Kelly, “who are elected by the people in each of the districts are not bound and they’re not committed.” In essence, those delegates can vote however they choose to based upon their conscience in Cleveland.

From there, Kelly stressed the need for unity in November. “I’m not  afraid of losing an election, as much as I’m afraid of losing a nation,” said Kelly. “We must, at the end of the day, make sure that Hillary Clinton is not sitting in the White House. We know for sure what Hillary Clinton will do. She is so far left of who she used to be —and so far left of where the country needs to be — and very divisive in the way she acts. The truth is, if she were a Republican, she’s probably be in jail right now,” he added.

“Republicans must unite. Conservatives must unite to make sure that our candidate in November, whoever it is coming out of Cleveland, is the person that we support through the Summer months and into the Fall,” concluded Kelly.

The show airs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125 on Saturday and is broadcast live from Capitol Hill.

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