The Indiana Republican Party Wednesday selected its 57 delegates to the national convention, but is not yet releasing their names after some party officials said they received threats over the weekend.
State party leaders selected a slate of 27 at-large delegates in addition to 27 delegates picked from the state’s congressional districts last weekend and three automatic delegates. The delegates won’t be allocated until the state’s May 3 primary.
After the delegates were selected Wednesday morning, state party officials began calling them individually to let them know they would be attending the convention in Cleveland, one Indiana delegate told CNN. The delegates were told to brace for a flood of attention from the press and the campaigns, added the delegate, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
The state party is waiting until the delegates have been certified by the Republican National Committee before releasing their names, a process that could take two weeks.
Indiana party leaders said they were threatened over the weekend after telling Politico they saw no reason to help Donald Trump supporters win those delegate spots. It was not clear if the threats came from Trump supporters.
“You know traditional burial is polluting the planet. Tom hope the family is well. Your name and info has been given to me on a list that is about to go public. Good luck becoming a delegate, we are watching,” read a threat that Indiana’s 7th District Chairman Tom John posted to Twitter.
The Trump campaign in Indiana denounced the threats.
“They’re deplorable and we condemn any kind of act of intimidation or any kind of threat. There’s no place for that in politics,” Trump Indiana co-chairman Tony Samuel told CNN.
RNC Committeeman John Hammond and veteran Indiana Republican operative Kyle Babcock also told The Indianapolis Star they received threats.
State Police looked into the threats but determined they constituted political speech.
“The Indiana State Police has completed a review of messages alleged to have been threatening toward some Indiana delegates that will be attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. The messages brought to the attention of the Indiana State Police constitute political speech and do not rise to the level of being criminal in nature,” Capt. Dave Bursten, a State Police spokesman, said in a statement.
The stakes to win over actual delegates — and not just support on the first ballot — have grown exponentially for all three remaining campaigns as a contested convention appears increasingly likely in Cleveland.
Indiana’s 57 delegates will be bound, or committed, to Trump, Ohio Gov. John Kasich or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for one ballot in Cleveland based on election results. But after that, they will be free to vote for any candidate they like.
Indiana party leaders selected their delegates Wednesday morning, but decided to send the names of each delegate to the Republican National Committee for certification before releasing those names, said Craig Dunn, chairman of Indiana’s 4th District.
All of the state’s delegates are bracing for a deluge of attention once their names are released, he said.
“When that information gets out, those 57 delegates and alternates are going to be hounded,” said Dunn, who also received threatening emails, though he said none were bordering on a death threat.