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McCain wins nomination after Arizona votes are cast
Some Minnesotans withheld their support.
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Cheering Republican delegates from Arizona, where John McCain was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, cast the deciding votes late Wednesday night to give McCain his party's presidential nomination.
The roll call of state delegations followed a speech by McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who received a rousing show of support from delegates.
Arizona Sen. John Kyl recommended McCain to the delegates. "He's the right man at the right time to lead us as president," said Kyl, who added that McCain "has never been afraid to make tough calls."
The 41 Minnesota delegates had front-row seats for the festivities, but they didn't coordinate their attire and wear funny hats, T-shirts or hockey jerseys to symbolize Minnesota.
"We wanted to look more like everyday people rather than dress up in a uniform," said Tony Sutton, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota Republican Party.
Though Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty criss-crossed the nation to campaign for McCain this year, the Gopher State's delegation was not solidly McCain Country. Pawlenty, who described McCain as an "American hero," reported 35 votes for McCain during the roll call.
Pawlenty did not announce a vote total for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. But earlier in the evening, Sutton said in an interview that six delegates supported Paul.
The votes by the state delegations took place in alphabetical order. But McCain's home state of Arizona was given the honor of pushing him over the top with its 53 votes at 11:03 p.m. after initially passing in the roll call.
A week earlier at the Democratic National Convention, many supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., wanted to cast their ballots for the woman who had received the most votes in history during the presidential primary season.
But Clinton then called for the proceedings to be suspended and asked for a vote of acclamation for Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
Sutton, who was attending his fourth national GOP convention Wednesday, said many delegates enjoy the tradition of the roll call, because it represents "an unbroken chain back to the founding of the party" in 1856.
Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709
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