Blog by Christina Barna

Today was day one of the Republican National Convention. The morning was a little bit hectic, because I did not have a formal assignment or supervisor, so I was assigned to stand in a hallway for four hours. It was boring but I got a chance to go into the convention and watch some of the speakers during the first session from the pounding of the gavel, which was interesting. I even got to see the delegates cast their votes and officially nominate Mitt Romney, which I thought was the most interesting part of the day. During the second session today, I got to go watch the speakers again, so I was happy to be able to have some down time and actually enjoy the convention.

While greeting guests before today’s second session, I got the opportunity to interview a delegate from California named Gwen Dyrud. She has lived in Orange County for 15 years and has been a supporter of Romney since 2008. She told me about the process of becoming a delegate in California. In order to get here, Dyrud had to apply through her county and pledge her loyalty to her candidate of choice (Romney). If your candidate of choice wins in your county’s vote, you have the chance to become a delegate; if not, you do not have the chance. The potential delegates then must pledge their votes to Romney and must show that they believe that he can beat Obama. Romney delegates from counties, in which he did not win the vote, do not get to attend the convention.

Dyrud also commented on Ron Paul and his supporters, whom she is not a fan. She believes that he should have respectfully stepped down rather than trying to cause a rift within the party by remaining in the race. She believes that Paul should have joined the Romney bandwagon and his supporters should have followed, and because he did not do so, he is not here today. This is Dyrud’s first convention. She is excited to be here, and she is excited to nominate Mitt Romney as the Republican Party’s candidate.