The SCORE was able to obtain the names by confirming positions with some of the delegates who had been selected. Some of the spellings were not initially correct, but changes were made on Feb. 26 when the state party released the official list of delegaes 11 days after the convenion. (See below).

County party officials were forced to make several phone calls to state officials to clarify how the delegate selection process should operate. Asked by a member of the audience to read the rules on delegate selection, Huskins said, “I don’t have them here. I have them at home in my attic somewhere.”

At stake were 30 party delegates, which traditionally are divided equally among the five county districts. That alone was a point of contention of the Heather Wilson campaign, which said that procedure had been changed mid-week by the county’s executive committee. Wilson campaign manager Christopher Collins was told at one point he was being ejected from he meeting, only to have Wilson herself intervene.

By the time voting concluded, both sides estimated that Rep. Steve Pearce won 18 to 20 delegates to the state convention on March xx in Albuquerque.

The totals themselves are insignificant because both Pearce and Wilson will surely exceed the 20 percent delegate threshold required by state law to get on the June xx primary election ballot. It could be a struggle in State Sen. Joe Carraro’s bid to get on the primary ballot for Congressional District 1 against Bernalillo County sheriff Darren White, who has the unofficial backing of the party establishment.

It was not immediately clear how Sandoval County delegates would vote on congressional races or if the Wilson campaign would challenge the process.

While party officials were happy to have such a large turnout, many potential voters were disenfranchised by the process when the word circulated that valid voter registration cards would be required to participate in the delegate selection.

Many who did not have cards went home.

Speaking of hands, county officials attempted to use a hand stamp to signify eligible voters, but that process was questioned when someone pointed out that guests were having their hands stamped as well. Wilson, who is registered to vote in Albuquerque, had her hand stamped, as did Collins, who is registered to vote in Washington, D.C.

Perhaps because of bad weather conditions, only three electors from District 5 attended the convention. All three – Louis Titus, JoAnn Titus and Michael Montoya – were named as delegates, and the other three positions were decide by an election of at-large candidates.

A total of 17 people were nominated as at large delegates, but two – Dianne Torrance and Jane Park – removed their name from consideration before voting began. Rules prohibited proxy or absentee voting, but initially allowed individuals who submitted “declarations of candidacy” to be considered as a delegate.

But that was changed by a voice vote from the floor, eliminating former state Rep. Judy Vanderstar-Russell from consideration. Mary Kwapich, a county party officer and candidate for county clerk, also had her name withdrawn from the list because she had to leave the meeting before it ended.

Two other prominent Republican women – Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert and Barbara McClain, president of the San-Bern Federation of Republican Women, were not selected as well. In the end, Helen Ondis (33 votes), Beverly Nys (31) and Marilyn Hannahs (24) were elected as at-large delegates, edging out Pat Morlen (23) and Charles Mellon (22).

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