Infighting by county GOP likely not over

Amid swirling criticism and media scrutiny Friday, the Utah County Republican Party reversed course and agreed to give all candidates the e-mail addresses of delegates to the county convention.

It was a bitter pill for the party chair and pleasantly stunned a group of Republicans who are challenging legislative incumbents from their own party. Those challengers had been complaining all week that state and county party leaders were violating rules by aiding the incumbents.

Complaints that the party machine was steamrolling challengers included allegations that state Senate Major Leader Curt Bramble's wife, who is the Utah County GOP secretary, would use inside information to favor him in his re-election bid against James O'Neal and Jackie Degaston.

Degaston said there was an inherent conflict of interest in entrusting the e-mail lists to Susie Bramble.

Sen. Bramble bristled at the suggestion Friday afternoon when I interviewed him. About an hour later, party chairwoman Marian Monnahan called me and said county leadership had changed its mind and would give the e-mail lists to all the candidates.

The flap began Wednesday night when the party met with all the Republican candidates to explain rules and plan the order of speakers at the convention later this month.

Degaston stood up and complained that some candidates had been given the e-mail addresses of the delegates who control the destiny of campaigns at the convention.

The delegates were selected last week at hundreds of neighborhood caucuses throughout Utah Valley. For about a month, those delegates control Utah's political process. Candidates woo the delegates, who then vote at the party conventions.

If a candidate earns 60 percent of the vote in a convention race, he or she becomes the party's nominee. If the vote is tighter, the top two finalists advance to a primary in June.

Monnahan had promised delegates she would keep their e-mail addresses private. At the caucus meetings, leaders declared the e-mail lists would be used only for internal party business.

That was a new policy. The party had provided delegate e-mail addresses to candidates in the past. Two longtime legislative district chairmen forgot the new rule when they got the delegate e-mail lists and handed them over to the Republican candidates in their district.

So in House District 57, incumbent Rep. Craig Frank and challengers Kim Robinson and Jennifer Baptista got the e-mail lists. The same was true for District 60, where incumbent Rep. Brad Daw is being challenged by Linda Housekeeper.