V.I. Republicans on Saturday guaranteed George W. Bush four delegates at the party’s July convention in Philadelphia.
Bush emerged the winner in the closed primary where only Republicans could cast their vote for party candidates. While residents of the territories can’t vote for president, they do send delegates to the party conventions.
A coalition of other territories, including Guam and American Samoa, will deliver 26 delegates to Bush. To win the GOP nomination for the presidency, the leading candidate needs 134 delegates.
"Considering how close things are, 26 delegates can mean a lot," said Republican V.I. Sen. Gregory Bennerson, referring to the race between Bush and U.S. Sen. John McCain.
According to Holland Redfield, the territory's Republican national committeeman, the elected delegates are Samuel J. Baptiste and Humberto O’Neal from St. Croix and April Newland and Lawrence Boschulte from the St. Thomas/St. John district.
Alternates include Ruben Fenton and Herbert Schoenbohm from St. Croix and Elissa Runyon and Molly Mills Fuchalt from St. Thomas/St. John.
"Virgin Islanders are 100 percent behind George W. Bush," Redfield said. "At the very beginning the governor of Texas reached out to the people of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico." He added that Bush’s sensitivity to minorities makes him a strong candidate. "That’s why there is a feeling of comfort."
