In a Republican primary where it looks like every delegate to the party's national convention matters, West Virginia GOP leaders took until after early voting started this week to figure out whether three top West Virginia Republicans would be required to vote for the winner of the state's popular vote.
Three West Virginia delegates automatically get to go to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July - Republican Party Chairman Conrad Lucas, Republican National Committeewoman Melody Potter and Republican National Committeeman Kris Warner.
Early last week, Warner said he would not be bound to vote for the winner of the popular vote in West Virginia. Lucas and Potter thought otherwise, but another state party official agreed with Warner.
"I'm going to be free until someone points out why I am bound," Warner said, after quoting the state motto, "Montani semper liberi," which means mountaineers are always free.
But Warner is not free, Lucas said late Friday. The national Republican Party weighed in, he said, and said that the three party leaders are bound by the popular vote.
Warner, who could not be reached for comment late Friday, did say that he would vote for the winner of the popular vote if there was evidence that he was required to do so.
This could all still change. The rules for the 2016 Republican National Convention won't officially be set until a couple of weeks before the convention.
The rules are created by the Republican National Convention Rules Committee, which includes two delegates from each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. That committee could throw out the old rules and start from scratch, or use the old rules as a starting point and adjust where they see fit. All of West Virginia's Republican leaders said they would follow the 2016 convention rules once they are set.
Potter and Lucas say that no matter what, they'll vote for the GOP presidential candidate who gets the most votes in West Virginia; most observers think that will be New York businessman Donald Trump. Both said they believe they had a moral obligation to follow the popular vote.
In April, Lucas found out that the 2012 rules for the Republican National Convention said that "in states that select their at-large delegates on a primary ballot, the RNC members will be bound to the statewide winner."
West Virginia selects its at-large delegates on a primary ballot, so it appeared that the RNC delegates have to vote for the winner of the popular vote.
But there was a disagreement among party leaders over whether West Virginia's delegates were legally bound.
Jordan Burgess, the executive director of the state party, focused on a line in the 2012 rule that said, "Where neither state party rule nor state law, by their terms, explicitly binds certain delegates, specifically RNC members, they will be bound in the same manner as the state's at-large delegates."
Burgess said that because state law says that delegate candidates have a "preference" for the presidential candidate who they will vote for on the first ballot, they are not legally bound.
"There's nothing in the state law that requires someone and says that you must do this," Burgess said.
Warner interpreted the rules the same way as Burgess.
"If our delegates are not bound, then our three RNC delegates are not bound, either," Warner said.
No punishment is defined if a delegate were to vote against his preference at the national convention. Instead, many see it as just the right thing to do.
"There's a moral obligation of, if you're committed to Trump, you're going to vote for Trump," Warner said. "If you're committed to [Texas Sen. Ted] Cruz, you're going to vote for Cruz."
Potter and Lucas agree that there's a moral obligation, one that they feel compels them to vote for the winner of the popular vote.
"People have lost faith in their elected leaders, especially in Washington," said Potter, who has helped the Cruz campaign recruit delegates. "And I think it's important for people to know that their elected republican leaders will support them."
Warner and Lucas have not said which candidate they personally prefer.
This is the first time that the primary vote in West Virginia matters since 1976, and the pressure over which candidate will win the most West Virginia delegates has brought increased scrutiny to the complicated rules in the state, creating confusion along the way.
All three RNC delegates agreed that this process was complicated and may be in need of reform.
"I think that this presidential election will lead to a lot of conversations post-process," Lucas said.
Reach Daniel Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @drdesrochers on Twitter.