Dundas Woman Chosen for Republican National Convention

Tiana Wells says she wanted a good future for her 10-year-old son Logan.

So the 36-year-old Dundas woman started attending local political meetings four years ago. Then she went to district meetings. Then state meetings. And she became more vocal along the way.

Now she’s one of three alternate delegates for the Second Congressional District Republican Party and heads to Tampa Bay, FL, in August to be part of the discussion to select a Republican presidential nominee.

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” she told Patch this week. “I can’t wait to come back and teach my son. I want him to know that I started out attending meetings at the local level talking, reading, researching. All it took was for me to say, ‘I’m not happy. I have to get involved.’”

Wells was one of 14 people to run as an alternate delegate at last weekend’s Second Congressional District Convention and was the second person selected. She introduced herself to 400 people at , spoke about her beliefs and then met with folks individually ahead of the selection.

Nationally, there are 2,286 Republican delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates who will converge on Tampa Bay.

Each alternate delegate is paired with a delegate, who will cast a vote at the Republican National Convention. Alternates stand in for delegates when the delegates have other obligations at the convention, need a break and, if they aren’t able to make the trip, the alternate fills in for them, which means they cast a vote behind their candidate of choice.

Eye on the presidential race

While former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the presumptive nominee, Texas Congressman Ron Paul is still campaigning for a bid for the White House. 

And Paul just so happens to be Wells’ candidate of choice.

“He has a very consistent voting record,” she said. “He has a 30-year record for the Constitution and liberty. He believes in basic freedoms and limited government. When you can represent a candidate that is so consistent in his message and beliefs and morals and values, how much better can that be? I am representing someone who is willing to make big changes.”

Romney leads the Republican field with 847 delegates, according to the New York Times. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who has suspended his campaign, is a distant second with 259 delegates. Former Speaker of the House New Gingrich, who has also suspended his campaign, is in third with 187 delegates. Paul is in fourth with 80 delegates.

Does Paul have a chance?

“I think there’s a lot of great momentum behind him,” said Wells, a registered nurse who specializes in infection prevention at Faribault’s District One Hospital. “I think his followers and supporters are very dedicated and committed to his message because he is so consistent to his message. I am excited to see what will happen.”

Paul may have the most support in Minnesota.

carried 45 percent of the vote in , with Paul at 27 percent and Romney at just less than 17 percent, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State.

The Associated Press estimates that 18 of Paul's 80 delegates are from Minnesota. Santorum is credited with 16 delegates from Minnesota, while Romney is credited with three. Minnesota's delegates are nonbinding and can change at any point until the national convention.  

But following last weekend’s Minnesota congressional delegation selections, Steven Nelson at The Daily Caller reports that 20 of the 24 delegates have pledged their support to Paul.

Next month, Wells will head to the state convention and the 24 delegates will vote for 13 more delegates to go to Tampa Bay. The final three of Minnesota’s 40 delegates are unpledged party leaders.

Political progress

It’s sure to be a busy few months for Wells. 

For the last four years she’s been learning. It’s all been in preparation for the next four months with all the new faces she’ll meet.

“I want to pick their brains and learn why this is happening and if we don’t like it, how do we change it? If we do like it, how do we keep going?” Wells said. “I’m looking to become more knowledgeable—all the people I can meet, all the things I can learn and see and bring back to our local politics and in Rice County.”

As for September and beyond, Wells plans to stay involved in Rice County and Second Congressional District politics.

She’s found a passion in parliamentary rules and has soaked up information anytime she’s met someone with the same passion but more experience. And for Wells, whose son is a first-year student at , she might have an interest in running for the school board several election cycles down the road.

“For right now, I’m still learning,” she said, but “this is only the beginning.”

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