Subject: AZ Republic: DeWit, others bounced from hotel over Trump delegate election
From: "Berns, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2016 15:02:50 -0700

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2016/04/30/dewit-others-bounced-hotel-over-trump-delegate-election/83756286/

DeWit, others bounced from hotel over Trump delegate election

State Treasurer Jeff DeWit and another individual were asked to leave a downtown Mesa hotel Friday night after they heatedly argued in the lobby over which names should appear on a delegate slate at the Arizona GOP convention.

The argument involving DeWit – Donald Trump’s Arizona chairman -- came on the eve of the state GOP convention<http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/04/29/arizona-republican-convention-trump-cruz-delegates/83714376/>, where more than 1,200 state delegates were set to cast their ballots for 55 open delegate slots for the national convention in July. Tensions are high between pro-Trump and pro-Ted Cruz factions.

[http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/893d79c16aaf216f888997520333af42c754dcd3/c=0-0-3501-2632&r=x483&c=640x480/local/-/media/2016/04/30/Phoenix/Phoenix/635976319453306693-CE10083.jpg]

Cheryl Evans/azcentral

State Treasurer Jeff DeWit speaks during the Arizona Republican 2016 state more

DeWit downplayed the incident, but said Saturday there was “an argument” in the hotel, and that it got noisy. The hotel is near the Mesa Convention Center, where the state convention was held Saturday.

“I’m working for Mr. Trump<http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/politicalinsider/2016/01/20/treasurer-jeff-dewit-donald-trump-arizona-campaign-chair/78887388/>, and some of the people around here are working against Mr. Trump,” DeWit said. “Our voices were raised and a guy came over and said, ‘Hey can you take it outside.’ ”

DeWit said a man who was working at the front desk asked him and three other people to leave.

“There are people that are not being very helpful with what we want to get done right now,” DeWit said, adding, “People are asking us to put names on our slate that we don’t want on our slate,” which was the root of his frustration.

While Trump won the primary, delegates by state law must only vote for him on the first ballot. Delegates can then switch their votes on the second ballot and any other subsequent ballots. Trump supporters have been aggressively working to ensure Trump loyalists<http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/04/05/after-primary-trump-and-cruz-fight-arizona-delegates/82630158/> are elected as delegates to the convention, while Cruz supporters are working just as hard to send Republicans who would vote for Cruz if there was a contested convention.

A hotel source who was briefed on what took place told The Arizona Republic on Saturday there was “an incident between two individuals, and that there was an argument – it was a very loud argument with foul language, there were other people in the lobby that heard it and saw it.” The source did not see the incident firsthand.

The two were “asked to separate,” and “to stop the argument,” the source said.

A hotel staffer recognized one of the people as DeWit. The pair “started to separate,” but a hotel staffer had to again intervene when the two began to argue loudly again, the source said.

Drinks had been flung off a lobby table near elevators, the hotel source said.

“ 'That’s enough,’ ” the source said, and DeWit and three others were asked to leave.

DeWit confirmed the hotel source’s account of the incident.

Follow the reporter on Twitter @yvonnewingett <https://twitter.com/yvonnewingett> and reach her at [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> or 602-444-4712<tel:602-444-4712>.

Sent from my iPhone