Romney camp strikes deal on delegates to avoid floor fight

The Romney campaign reached a deal on Monday with activists who were enraged by an attempt to change rules for delegate selection for the 2016 election, The New York Times reported.

Last week, Romney’s lawyers had proposed a deal that would have given future presidential nominees power over who gets picked to be a delegate, a move that some, including supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex., argued would be a huge power grab. The dispute had threatened to break out into a floor fight at the convention.

Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton called the developments “very positive,” according to The Hill. Under the new deal, a bound delegate is required to vote for the presidential candidate as required by state or party rules, but delegate selection is left to the states.

Jim Bopp, a delegate from Indiana, who had objected to the earlier change, released a statement hailing the decision. “The Romney for President campaign has heard the concerns of the conservative grass-roots voices in our party and has crafted an amendment to the rules adopted on Friday to address these concerns,” he said.