According to the Vermont Republican Party, endorsing a candidate with a felony conviction is prohibited. rules made public.
It’s a bit of a problem now because he was the presumptive Republican presidential nominee recently convicted of 34 felonies.
“The state committee … shall not endorse or promote any candidate for elected office who is a convicted felon,” read the rules governing everything from party meetings to how delegates vote at national conventions.
On social media, the party is technically following the rule — no mention of Donald Trump in the Vermont GOP. Twitter or Facebook In the days since the former president’s historic guilty verdict in the hush money case, the pages – but the party’s social media usually only talk about local candidates and presidential hopefuls visiting the state.
According to an archived version of the rules, the rule has been on the books since at least 2013, but it was not until early 2022 that the party appeared to have changed its rules.
According to the Internet Archive, the posted rules were changed by March 2022 so that the state committee would exempt a candidate from the rule by a majority vote.
It’s unclear whether such a rule would affect how Vermont’s GOP delegates vote at the Republican National Convention in July.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley won all of Vermont’s delegates but suspended her campaign in March; has since supported Trump. Party rules dictate that if a candidate withdraws or suspends their campaign, they are not bound to the RNC’s delegates.
Paul Dame, chairman of the Republican National Committee and Vermont Republican Party, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2022, Dame said in a statement that he did not believe Trump was the right choice for the party.
“I believe the best thing for the future of the party is for other qualified and capable Republicans to join the primary to give Republican voters a better choice in the 2024 election,” he said.
In a statement, the Democratic National Committee suggested that Vermont Republicans endorse President Joe Biden in November.
“We already knew Donald Trump was a threat to the American people and our democracy, but by the Vermont GOP’s own rules, Donald Trump doesn’t even qualify for their endorsement,” said Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman. This November, the only candidate running for the Vermont Republican Party – 270 – who is supporting Joe Biden, has not been convicted of a crime.