After three rounds of voting veteran GOP strategist John Watson edged out Alex Johnson to be elected as the state’s Republican Party chairman. Watson pulled out the victory by the narrow margin of 741 to 679.
The second round of voting was between Johnson at 498, Michael McNeely with 449, and Watson at 547. A relatively close round that sent Johnson and Watson to a decisive third. It seemed that a majority of McNeely supporters went to Watson amid a rapidly thinning number of voters as the convention dragged on late in the day.
All four of the candidates for the party’s top spot campaigned on a serious need for redirection for the party but Watson’s win is undoubtedly a sigh of relief for some in the party compared to the would-be firebrand Johnson.
There was also some controversy surrounding the later round voting. The first round of voting took approximately an hour to count. The second and third rounds were much quicker and some delegates were upset they were not given a proper awareness for voting. Many delegates appeared to be taking the opportunity of the counting time to take a break and use the bathroom and ultimately missed a second or third round vote. After they realized what had happened and it was too late to make a difference, they complained to the chair, State Rep. Fleming, who argued that others on the floor were upset that it was taking too long.
