The Associated Press

Tue, May 20, 2008 (10:12 a.m.)

Ron Paul advocates say a Reno hotel-casino room big enough for nearly 1,400 Nevada Republicans is available June 7 for completion of a state GOP convention that ended in chaos April 26, but a party official says that won't work.

The state party plans to reconvene somewhere in Reno in the next several weeks to complete the event abruptly shut down prior to final votes on what was turning into a Nevada delegation to a national convention with more backers for Paul than presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

Zach Moyle, the state party's executive director, said Tuesday the idea is "to maximize participation, not to pick a random rate," and various dates and locations still are being considered with that goal in mind.

Jeff Greenspan, southwest regional coordinator for the Paul campaign, said an anonymous Republican donor in the Reno area told the state GOP that a large room at the Grand Sierra Resort had been booked to complete the convention on June 7.

Greenspan said the Paul campaign wasn't responsible for the donation, and saw it as "a great opportunity" to wrap up the convention. But Moyle said the party is doing its own legwork and doesn't intend to use the Grand Sierra Resort.

Moyle has said that completing the convention by mid-June would be good, but the goal of a big turnout is more important even if it means the event can't occur until some time in July.

Ron Paul backers were upset by the recess at the April 26 convention and expressed concern about getting fair treatment when it resumes. Party leaders have insisted the Paul supporters won't be disenfranchised.

Greenspan has said supporters of the Texas congressman will turn out in force for the rest of the convention, adding that the big concern is that the 31-member national convention delegation not be picked in secret.

State Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, who chaired the convention, has said it would have taken several hours more to complete work April 26 on the national convention delegation, and "we were on overtime on our contract for our convention space."

The shutdown ended a long day that pitted outnumbered supporters of McCain against well-organized Paul supporters who managed to get a rule change positioning them for more national convention delegate slots than expected.

State GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden has said the rules change wasn't anticipated. She denied any anti-Paul bias, saying expected slates of national delegates were prepared through a fair process and the party thought the convention would accept them.

Mitt Romney, now campaigning for McCain, got 52 percent in Nevada's GOP precinct straw polls in January, while McCain and Paul split a quarter of the votes.