Massachusetts Republicans are considering a change that could prevent a Trump delegate from sweeping the primary

BOSTON – For many years, Massachusetts’ Republican presidential primary has been a winner-take-all affair. But that could be about to change.

In an interview Wednesday morning with WBZ-TV, state GOP chairwoman Amy Carnevale revealed that the party is “seriously considering” switching to proportional allocation of delegates. A party subcommittee has met to discuss the change once and may approve it at a future session.

That could prevent former President Donald Trump, the likely winner of the March 5, 2024 Republican primary here, from walking away with all 40 delegates to the national convention, even if he wins 50 percent or more of the vote.

Why the change now? When asked in our interview about Trump’s impact on his party, Carnevale chose his words carefully, but said, “I’ve heard from Republican lawmakers that they really want to focus on issues that matter to Massachusetts, and having the drama associated with a former president is unhelpful to these Republicans.”

He might have added that the state party’s close association with Trump hasn’t exactly helped the Mass. GOP here at home; Republicans had one of the worst results at the polls last fall. If the results of next year’s primaries end up sending a significant number of non-Trump delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, that could affect the state party’s image as a Trump body. Conversely, a landslide for Trump that leaves room for other candidates would be a sign of continued dominance.

You can watch the full interview with Carnevale on the Sunday morning edition of “Keller At Large” this Sunday at 8:30 on WBZ-TV and CBS News Boston.

Jon Keller

Jon Keller is a political analyst for WBZ-TV News, and his “Keller @ Large” reports on a wide range of topics are featured regularly during WBZ-TV News at 5 and 6 p.m. Keller’s commentary is also seen weekday mornings at 5:30 am. on WBZ this morning.