GOP split could give isles clout on the national stage

For the first time in many decades, Hawaii Republicans could make a dent in national politics. The plan would be both simple and complex.

It depends on Hawaii’s GOP going to the July national convention in Cleveland with a national party that has no clear presidential nominee.

If billionaire reality TV star Donald Trump has it locked up by this summer, then forget it, Hawaii doesn’t get to play. But if no one is winning, the dance is on.

A so-called brokered convention means that the front-runner has not been able to snag the required delegate total of 1,237.

Hawaii’s Republican establishment last night went to their party caucuses hoping for a split vote.

“If there is an open convention, I want to be there,” said former GOP state legislator and party leader Barbara Marumoto, who at first supported Jeb Bush then, after he dropped out, went with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

“I’ve attended five national conventions, and for the most part, they have been well-orchestrated programs made for TV,” Marumoto said, clearly hoping for real intrigue in Cleveland.

The chance for 19 Hawaii GOP delegates to trade their votes in return for presidential help for the state makes a brokered convention open to wheeling and dealing for even the tiny Hawaii delegation.

Former GOP U.S. Rep. Charles Djou said: “Hawaii clearly has an exciting role to play as every delegate at a convention will have an important part in selecting the nominee. A delegate from Hawaii will carry as much weight as a delegate from Iowa or New Hampshire.”

Djou is relishing the chance for Hawaii to be part of a historic convention.

“While Hawaii is often thought of as an afterthought in the nominating process, we can be an integral part of selecting the nominee in 2016,” Djou said.

The reason why is that denying Trump a first-ballot win means the delegates can pick anyone as the presidential nominee.

For instance, as the last GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, pointed out on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he’s ready if the GOP wants him.

“I don’t think anyone in our party should say, ‘Oh, no. Even if the people of the party wanted me to be president, I would say no to it.’ No one is going to say that,” Romney said.

At the same time, the GOP will have to deal with the perception that if delegates don’t go with the candidate with the most votes, it is just wrong.

State Rep. Beth Fukumoto Chang, the state House GOP leader, worries the GOP could be inviting a November disaster: If “the party needs to backroom-deal at an establishment level to undo the work of local party voters, then we’ve already lost.”

“I think if the popular vote gets overruled in a brokered convention, people are going to feel disenfranchised. It would be well within the rules, but if this primary season is showing anything, it’s showing that people are tired of establishment politics,” said Fukumoto Chang (R, Mililani-Mililani Mauka-Waipio Acres).

Still, former U.S. Rep. and GOP Chairwoman Pat Saiki said: “It looks like we’re headed for an open convention, and after the first ballot, all bets are off.”

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.