Daily Archives: January 20, 2013

The battle within the Republican Party continues as Maine National Committeeman Mark Willis has officially entered the race for Republican National Committee chair. Since the announcement, as reported by Undercover Porcupine in Maine National Committeeman Willis Running For RNC Chair, the race has heated up.

Willis, a veteran of the United States Army who was endorsed by the Ron Paul campaign, successfully defeated Hayes Gahagan at the Maine State Republican Convention last May to become National Committeeman.

Now the race heats up as Reince Priebus and his supporters aim to maintain control, as the race begins to look more and more like the tumultuous 2012 Republican presidential primary. Like former Congressman Ron Paul, National Committeeman Mark Willis is considered a longshot with little chance defeating Priebus. It would appear, that like former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the current Chair will win re-election.So why the battle?

In an article from the DailyCaller titled Drama in RNC election as Ron Paul supporter makes run for chairman, various members of the Republican National Committee have questioned Mark Willis on an issue from the general election. As Republicans cry about rehashing the past, California National Committeeman Shawn Steel does just that in pointing out Willis was a write-in candidate for Vice President in Maine, on a ticket with former Congressman Paul.

Evidently, National Committeeman Steel and others at the RNC have not done their research into Maine law. This comes as little surprise as the RNC was incapable of even doing research into their own bylaws under Reince Priebus.

In a letter to members of the RNC, National Committeeman Steel said this:

I learned that Mark Willis was listed as an official and declared write-in candidate on the state of Maines 2012 general [September] election ballot serving as Ron Pauls Vice Presidential running mate and standing against the Republican Presidential nominee and Vice-Presidential running mate. The following link will take you the State of Maine Secretary of States Office listing of declared write-in candidates for the November 2012 ballot. Mark Willis is the second name on the list, listed as Ron Pauls running mate. In the Date Filed column it shows that the required forms were filed with the Maine Secretary of State on September 24, 2012 almost a full month after the Republican National Convention where we officially nominated Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan.

Now we know National Committeeman Steel and the Republican National Committee can read. But can they research? Here is some simple detective work.

In the State of Maine, the law states that four presidential electors must nominate a ticket for it to become official. This means that four presidential electors must file paperwork with the State, confirming their consent to the ticket, in order for it to become valid for the general election. The filing paperwork, found here, does not, however, require candidate consent. This means that while the Ron Paul/Mark Willis write-in ticket was valid in Maine, it was entered in by four presidential electors without consent from former Congressman Paul or National Committeeman Willis.

This is exactly what the Maine National Committeeman told the DailyCaller, when he stated he had nothing to do with it.

Read more from the original source:
Reince Priebus, RNC Strike Challenger Mark Willis With Ron Paul Write-in Candidacy

Yesterday at 10:50 PM Mark Willis says his own party's leaders are wrongly questioning his eligibility on the national committee.

By Kevin Miller kmiller@mainetoday.com Washington Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON A Maine representative to the Republican National Committee is accusing national party leaders of running a smear campaign to oust him from the committee, even as he wages his own longshot bid to become the national party's next chairman.

click image to enlarge

Mark Willis

Staff File Photo

Five months ago, Mark Willis lost his delegate seat at the Republican National Convention in Tampa because of his outspoken support for presidential candidate Ron Paul.

Now, other Republican National Committee members question whether Willis is eligible to represent Maine on the committee -- let alone run for RNC chairman -- because he was listed as Paul's running mate on Maine's official list of declared write-in candidates last November.

Failure to support the party's presidential nominee is grounds for removal from the committee under RNC rules.

But Willis said he had no hand in his name appearing as a write-in candidate for vice president -- a claim confirmed by the man who filed the original paperwork -- and Willis insisted he supported Republican nominee Mitt Romney after the convention.

Excerpt from:
Maine Ron Paul supporter fears he's being smeared