When Donald Trump’s campaign dispatched Joe Uddo, a former Ben Carson aide, to Delaware last week, he had a mission: twist a few arms to get Trump supporters into the state’s delegation to the national convention.

Uddo may have twisted a bit too hard: State GOP insiders say Uddo ripped their long-standing process from his very first phone call and hinted he might refer it to Trump’s high-powered law firm, Jones Day. Then, he suggested that continued resistance could lead to a nasty Trump campaign tweet about “backroom deals in Delaware,” according to three sources familiar with Uddo's interactions.


State party leaders say they have no plans for last-minute changes to a delegate-selection process the party has been using since 1996. But the sources say the spat created bitter feelings between Delaware GOP insiders and the Trump campaign.

“One of our delegates is just a little old lady,” said one of the sources. “This is not cigar chomping, tobacco spitting guys with three piece suits. These are just normal Delawareans, hardworking, retirees.”

Uddo and the Trump campaign declined requests for comment. Trump’s Delaware chairman, Rob Arlett, also did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Trump is expected to romp in next week’s Delaware primary, a win that would require all 16 Delaware delegates vote for him on a first ballot at the July national convention in Cleveland.

It’s a small prize but still a crucial part of the math Trump is hopeful helps him clinch the Republican presidential nomination without a messy contested convention. If he falls short, most delegates – including Delaware’s – would be freed to vote their conscience on a second ballot. And Trump has struggled to install his loyalists into delegate slots all over the country, leaving him vulnerable to defeat if the convention takes multiple rounds to resolve.

But Delaware was never fertile ground for Trump to cut into Ted Cruz’s advantage in recruiting friendly delegates, despite Uddo’s protests. Long-standing Delaware GOP rules forbid presidential candidates from any role in picking convention delegates — a provision designed to spare the small party from bribes by deep-pocketed presidential candidates.

“Presidential candidates shall not nominate or propose any delegates or alternate delegates,” according to the rules.

Instead, it’s the state GOP leadership that selects a slate of 13 delegates, a process they undertook in February – when about a dozen candidates were still seeking the party’s nomination. Three others, the state party chairman Charlie Copeland and two members of the Republican National Committee, are automatic delegates to the convention as well.

This year, that slate includes a handful of regional party chairs, longtime activists and other senior state GOP officials. Though a convention next week will vote on whether to ratify the slate, party leaders see its approval as a near certainty. Party officials say they’ve traditionally rewarded veteran activists and donors with delegate slots, an acknowledgement of their toils in a heavily Democratic state.

“It’s a balance between honoring and respecting the will of the voters and to reward and show appreciation to party loyalists and volunteers that bust their ass to get people elected in this state,” said John Fluharty, former executive director of the Delaware GOP, who is handling convention arrangements for the party this year.

Even if Delaware party leaders wanted to change the process, they’re forbidden by national Republican rules, which required every state to set in place its delegate selection process by Oct. 1, 2015. Any changes at this stage could invalidate the state’s delegation altogether.

Ironically, sources familiar with the slate say the bulk of nominees appear inclined to support Trump, or at least honor the result of the state’s primary which is expected to favor the mogul by a wide margin.

“The folks who I know are delegates, I think the overwhelming majority of them are Trump supporters,” said one GOP source. “But if you’re going to act like a jerk and try to dictate things, quite frankly, it’s going to turn people off.”

One of the prospective delegates, Sussex-area GOP chairman Billy Carroll, said he initially supported Scott Walker and then Marco Rubio, but both candidates have left the field. Now, he says, he’s likely to follow the results of the state primary when he decides how to vote in a potentially open convention.

“That would be my natural inclination,” he said, noting that a county GOP straw poll showed Trump with a 50-point edge of over Cruz and a 60-point lead on John Kasich. “I don’t have problems campaigning for anyone of the three.”

Several delegates declined to comment, saying they were nervous to speak out for fear of a backlash. Others declined to return calls seeking comment.

Matt Lenzini, a member of the state GOP executive committee who isn’t on the delegate slate, said he does anticipate some defections from Trump on a second ballot.

“I do think there are some individuals, some delegates that kind of resent the fact that he’s Johnny come lately and hasn’t been a part of the traditional Republican Party historically,” said Lenzini, another regional GOP chair. “I think there’s probably a handful out there that irrespective of what happens, come second ballot, they would push a different candidate over Trump.”

Uddo’s rocky relationship with Delaware GOP insiders extended to some members of the delegate slate. The three GOP sources told POLITICO that Uddo pursued members of the state’s delegate slate and encouraged them to sign pledges to support Trump on second ballot. In one instance, they said, he tried to convince a delegate candidate that a colleague had already signed the pledge when in fact it wasn’t true.

After a meeting of the state party executive committee last week, tensions with Uddo flared again, when one member asked Uddo whether Trump would be visiting the state. Uddo gestured toward officials who oversee the party’s rules and said, “I don’t know if you guys have any business asking for a favor.”

Trump visited Delaware Friday evening for a rally.