The chief counsel to Rick Santorum's presidential campaign formally submitted a letter of protest to the Republican National Committee on Friday over the allocation of Michigan's two at-large delegates to Mitt Romney.
The letter, written by Cleta Mitchell, makes the case that there were a clear set of rules that were summarily disbanded after the vote took place. Mitchell asserts that the state's two at-large delegates were supposed to be divided proportionally among the top finishers.
We are deeply concerned that the State Party would choose to make a decision contrary to the noted delegate allocation rules, as set forth in the Memorandum and other governing documents. Further compelling this request and reinforcing the veracity of our campaign's concerns regarding the integrity of the process are the words of Romney support and former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who was in the minority of the allocation decision vote to award Governor Romney both at-large delegates: "I have this crazy idea that you follow the rules. I'd love to give the at-large delegates to Mitt Romney, but our rules provide for strict apportionment."
It remains unclear how the RNC will address the issue. Members of the Michigan GOP have insisted that the confusion is based on an incorrect reading of a non-official memorandum that said the at-large delegates should be awarded proportionally. Santorum obviously disagrees with that interpretation, but it's not clear if there will be a resolution to the matter any time soon -- maybe not even until the convention.
The Santorum campaign is pushing for a sooner resolution. "These important questions prompt our campaign to ask that this matter be referred to the RNC General Counsel's office for an immediate review and formal investigation to ascertain the integrity of the decision-making process, the application of the rules as adopted, and to ensure that the rules, as adopted, were followed and that neither the state party nor another campaign had a role in inappropriately changing the established rules regarding delegate allocation," Mitchell wrote.
READ THE FULL LETTER BELOW: