Decision 2016

Texas gets rowdy in Cleveland.

July 18, 2016 By Paul Gleiser

All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and U.S. territories like American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are represented at the Republican National Convention.

Most of the delegations are hard to tell apart. Mostly, the Quicken Loans Arena concourse is just crowded with, upper-middle class, middle-aged adults.

Save for a few, such as this woman from Wisconsin, there are few clues as to a delegate’s origin.

But such is not the case with Texas. The Texas delegation at GOP conventions always stands out.

The Texas Delegation is always organized as to appearance. There’s a uniform. It almost always features the prominent display of a lone white star.

Then, of course, we have the unmistakable hats.

All of this, coupled with the fact that the Texas delegation is the second-largest at the convention, with 155 delegates (California has 172), and Texas is a force to be reckoned with.

Which is why the small revolt, led in large measure by the Texas crowd, gained some momentary traction on the floor Monday.

Donald Trump did not win Texas. He lost to Texas senator Ted Cruz by a margin of three to two. Many in the Texas delegation are either not supporting Trump or are only doing so half-heartedly.

The Texas delegation led a “rules rebellion” that if passed, would have required a roll-call vote that might have upended the Trump nomination (not likely) or, at the very least, served as an embarrassment to the Trump campaign.

The “rebellion” wound up going nowhere. The chairman gaveled it down.

But for a short while on Monday afternoon, a day and time at political conventions when not much interesting usually happens, it got raucous in the Quicken Loans Arena.

The Texas delegation was a loud, prominent participant.