As the dust settled from the fiery rules meeting at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, the leading storyline that emerged was that establishment forces had once again quashed insurgent outsiders by instituting two critical changes to the way the GOP nominates its presidential candidate.

One new rule cracks down on delegates who are inclined to peel away from the electoral outcome in their state, a direct response to the rabble-rousing supporters of former Rep. Ron Paul. The other rule allows the Republican National Committee to change a certain set of rules between conventions with a three-fourths vote of membership, disseminating power from the rules committee which previously held sole jurisdiction.

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But there was a third overlooked change that could potentially have the biggest, most dramatic effect on the 2016 primary fight and some RNC members believe it could render irrelevant the concerted, well-laid efforts to shorten the nomination contest.

Officially, it’s Rule 40 in the RNC handbook and it states that any candidate for president “shall demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of eight (8) or more states” before their name is presented for nomination at the national convention.

In a scenario with a commanding front-runner, this doesn’t seem like a high threshold to cross. But with the absence of an heir apparent standard-bearer and the most wide open nomination battle in decades looming, some RNC members think Rule 40 could crack open the door to the possibility of a convention floor fight. The theory: If no one candidate has secured eight states, it invites a free-for-all without a reason to get out. Conversely, if multiple candidates garner eight victories and accrue hundreds of delegates, each could claim a right to soldier on. For instance, it isn't inconceivable to think that Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., could dominate the Northeast, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. performing well in the South and Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wisc,, racking up victories in the Midwest.

So much for an orderly primary.

This storyline would cause considerable heartburn for a good number of Republicans who are at pains to streamline and sanitize the primary process in the wake of the long and draining 2012 slog.

But not Curly Haugland, the 14-year committeeman from North Dakota. A staunch traditional conservative, Haugland knows the rule book better than many of his colleagues and is poised to use it to his advantage to empower delegates over primary voters in the next nominating process.

“Every primary, every caucus, will essentially be a beauty contest,” Haugland says of 2016. “Now, those results will be persuasive to delegates that go to the convention. But the delegates to the Republican convention are going to choose the next presidential nominee. Nobody will have the majority of delegates from eight states before the convention.”

At first listen, the notion seems laughable.

A four-month primary schedule that doesn’t matter? A multiple candidate field devising a delegate-driven strategy for a convention fight? Not in today’s top-down, tightly scripted political era.

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But Haugland, wielding the 2012 rule book in his hand, merely refers back to the RNC’s own rules, created and ratified by its own membership to defend his game-changing assertions.

“The RNC has no option except to follow these rules, until they convene in 2016,” he says.

“They can’t wish it away. All the campaigns have to operate with the knowledge that this is the current rule, to get to the eight-state threshold.”

Asked how widespread his interpretation of the rule is, Haugland responds with a grin as wide as a Cheshire cat: “I don’t need any support. All I need is Rule 40.”

