Joey Garrison, and Dave Boucher

The Tennessean

Donald Trump's campaign for president is accusing the Tennessee Republican Party of "doing the bidding" of the national GOP establishment in a calculated attempt to “steal” pro-Trump delegates and stop them from being a part of Tennessee's GOP delegation.

It's part of a national effort by GOP party leaders, the Trump campaign has alleged, to stop the Republican frontrunner from becoming the nominee.

A Tennessee party official disputes that allegation, instead accusing Trump’s camp of distorting the truth while noting Trump will still receive all delegates won from the state.

Donald Trump wins Tennessee Republican primary

Darren Morris, state director of Trump's campaign in Tennessee, told The Tennessean the Trump campaign and Tennessee Republican Party chairman Ryan Hayes had agreed Wednesday on the names of seven of the 14 at-large delegates that, under party rules, are to be appointed by the state party. Delegates will ultimately decide the party’s nominee at the Republican National Convention this summer.

But Morris said that an updated delegate list he reviewed late this week is now wiped clean of several of those names and instead features individuals who he described as "anti-Trump."

"They're picking anti-Trump people," Morris said. "They're picking establishment picks who don't support Donald Trump, and it's just the same effort that they're conducting all over the country to steal a vote here, steal a delegate there, to affect the outcome of the convention in July and take the nomination away from Donald Trump.

Trump backers: 'There will be war' over disputed delegates

"The party chair is a puppet. He is doing the bidding of the party establishment to take the nomination away from Donald Trump."

Brent Leatherwood, executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party, said the party didn’t have any agreement and accused the Trump campaign of rabble-rousing.

"Instead of stirring up strife and grossly mischaracterizing the conversation that took place between Mr. Morris and Chairman Haynes, let's set the record straight. There was never an agreement, especially after the Trump campaign spoke dismissively about the Party process and one of our female members,” Leatherwood said, without specifying which member.

“Regardless of that, the TNGOP will fill out the remaining delegate spots consistent with our bylaws, state law, and the results of the March 1st Presidential Primary.”

Why Donald Trump won big in Clay County, Tennessee

The Trump campaign has urged Trump supporters to pack a Tennessee Republican Executive Committee meeting set for Saturday morning in Nashville to influence a committee vote on finalizing the 14 at-large delegates.

An email sent by the Trump campaign to supporters in Tennessee argues "a small group of Tennessee establishment insiders pulling a fast one."

"We won the votes," it reads. "They are trying to steal them."

At issue are the 14 at-large Republicans delegates of Tennessee's overall delegation of 58 who are appointed by the Republican Party's Executive Committee. Trump handily won Tennessee’s GOP primary. In turn, 41 of those 58 delegates were approved by Tennessee Republican primary voters during the primary to be delegates committed to specific candidates. The remaining three are selected by the Republican National Committee.

Trump won Tennessee's primary with 39 percent of the vote. Because candidates needed to meet a 20 percent threshold to earn delegates, the Tennessee Republican Party announced last month that 33 of the 58 delegates (57 percent) are to go to Trump, 16 to Ted Cruz and nine to Marco Rubio.

Morris said the Trump campaign advised the Tennessee Republican Party on individuals for their share of seven of the 14 party-appointed delegates that the Trump campaign says it's entitled.

"A few of those names are still on there," Morris said. "Most of them are not. Most of them are very anti-Trump people. In fact, I've been told a few of them are very much anti-Trump and they're there to do the bidding of the RNC."

Elections 2016

Morris said two of the pro-Trump at-large delegates supported by the campaign, but now taken off the list, are Republican state Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Mark Winslow, former chief of staff of the Tennessee Republican Party. Both men were delegate candidates in the March 1 primary. Morris said Ketron is now slated to be an alternate delegate and that Winslow is no longer even on the list.

"We had agreed on (Winslow) to be one of our seven delegates," he said. "I was told today he had been moved to the alternate list. Now, I'm told he's not even on the list."

Leatherwood reiterated the party will follow GOP bylaws and procedures, and delegates will — at least initially — be bound to their candidates.

“Despite what they are saying, state law mandates all delegates be bound to their respective candidate for two rounds of balloting at the Republican National Convention. There are no exceptions to that requirement,” Leatherwood said.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison. Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-882 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.