The mysterious GOP delegate vote in Pa. — a voter’s guide

If you’re a Republican voting in the Pennsylvania primary, you may be in for a surprise.

You can vote for your favored presidential candidate in the popular vote. But if you want to help him get the delegates he needs for the nomination, you can let him down — unless you have information that won’t be available on the ballot.

We’re here to help.

Under the Pennsylvania Republican Party’s somewhat peculiar rules, a candidate can win the primary popular vote by 20 points and still lose most of the delegates.

That’s because the selection of most of the state’s convention delegates is completely separate from the popular vote cast for candidates on Tuesday.

Here’s how it works:Winning the popular vote in the Pennsylvania primary gets a candidate just 17 of the state’s 71 delegates. The other 54 will be elected directly by voters, three from each congressional district.

By party rules, all 54 elected delegates will go to the convention as officially uncommitted, though some may be privately committed to a particular campaign.

But nothing on the ballot will tell you whether a given candidate for delegate favors Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, or nobody.

So how does anybody know? We asked.

WHYY contacted all of the 162 candidates for convention delegate and asked if they favored a particular candidate, whether they might support the winner of the vote in their congressional district, or are truly uncommitted.

More than 100 responded; of those who did, 22 percent said they were with Donald Trump, 17 percent with Ted Cruz, and we found a single candidate for delegate for John Kasich. Seventeen percent said they’re truly uncommitted, and the largest group, 44 percent, said they would vote for the winner of the popular vote in their congressional district.

Remember, these are not delegates. They’re candidates for delegate, and voters will decide which of them are chosen to go the convention. To inform voters, we’re sharing our list of delegate candidates’ preferences below.

The list includes the delegate candidates who responded to our survey, and some we couldn’t reach who were included in a report by the Tribune-Review. When we use the Tribune-Review’s list, we note that.

These preferences are an indicator of the delegate’s vote on the first ballot at the convention. Some may change course on subsequent ballots; remember, they are not obliged to do what they say, even on the first ballot. All 54 will be technically uncommitted, and free to follow their own conscience.

(If you’re a Democrat, by the way, none of this applies to you. They award delegates mostly in proportion to the candidates’ popular vote. You’ll see candidates for delegate on the Democratic ballot, but your vote for them won’t affect the number of delegates each presidential candidate gets.)

Find your district, make your picks

 To use the list below, you need to know what Congressional District you live in. You can look at an interactive map on the GovTrack website, or look your district up by ZIP code at the U.S. House website.

Then check the list below for the preferences of delegate candidates we were able to reach. Remember, other candidates for delegate may be on the ballot in your district, and we can’t tell you anything about their preferences.

1st Congressional District

Christopher M. Vogler: Uncommitted, will consider the district vote
David Hackett:  Whoever wins the district
Seth Kaufer: Uncommitted

2nd Congressional District

Aldridk Gessa: Cruz
Aaron Cohen: Uncommitted
Elizabeth Havey: Uncommitted
Calvin Tucker: Currently uncommitted; will consider district’s vote

3rd Congressional District

Jim Keffalas: Trump
Daniel Vete: Uncommitted
Robert Yates: Uncommitted, leaning toward Kasich
Louis J. Aliota: Leaning Trump, according to the Tribune Review
Michael T. Baker: Uncommitted, according to the Tribune Review
Brian L. Ellis: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review
Philip S. English: Uncommitted. Will consider district results. Inclined to support strongest candidate against Democrats, according to the Tribune Review
Gale Measel: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review
Michele Mustello: Uncommitted. Would like Pennsylvania delegation to cast votes together, according to the Tribune Review
Carol Lynne Ryan: Trump — she assumes he’ll win her district

4th Congressional District

Charles Gerow: Whoever wins the district
Betsy Hower: Whoever wins the district
Andrew Ritter: Will vote based on district vote and Pennsylvania’s overall top candidate
Marc Anthony Scaringi: Trump
Alex Shorb: Whoever wins the district
Timothy Barker: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review
Amy Sarah Brennan: Undecided, according to the Tribune Review
Joseph Scott Burford: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review
Matthew R. Jansen: Trump, according to the Tribune Review
William Greg Rothman: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review
Joseph A. Sacco: Trump, according to the Tribune Review

5th Congressional District

Richard Chura: Cruz
Ash Khare: Though contacted by both Cruz and Trump campaigns, will vote for whoever wins the district
James Klein: Trump (recruited by campaign)
Scott Schreffler: Whoever wins the district
Lyle Stewart: Cruz
Joyce C. Haas: Whoever wins her district, according to the Tribune Review
Barry K. Kroeker: Cruz, on at least the first ballot, according to the Tribune Review
C. Arnold McClure: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review
Sheila Fitzgerald Sterrett: Whoever wins her district, on at least the first convention ballot, according to the Tribune Review

6th Congressional District

Ryan Costello: Whoever wins the district
Douglas Hager: Whoever wins the district
Michelle Harris Kichline: Whoever wins the district
Larry Stohler: Uncommitted and planning to vote based on district and statewide outcomes
Mary Elizabeth Wert: Cruz
Robert Wert: Cruz
Wayne Buckwalter: Trump, on at least the first convention ballot, according to the Tribune Review
Vicki Lightcap: Whoever wins her district, on at least the first convention ballot, according to the Tribune Review

7th Congressional District

Joan Miller: Whoever wins the district
Michael Puppio: Whoever wins the district
Jan Ting: Whoever wins the district
Ralph Wike: Trump (recruited by campaign)
Robert Willert: Whoever wins the district

8th Congressional District

Sean Shute: Expecting to vote Trump, but will also perform vote-balancing tests based on state and district outcomes
Barry Robert Casper: Whoever wins his district, on at least the first convention ballot, according to the Tribune Review
Deborah A. Evangelou: Cruz, according to the Tribune Review
Robert G. Loughery: Whoever wins his district, on at least the first convention ballot, according to the Tribune Review

9th Congressional District

Lois Kaneshiki: Cruz
Cody Raymond Knotts: Trump
Joseph Lamantia: Whoever wins the district, though personally a Trump supporter
William Shuster: Uncommitted
Robert Thomas: Uncommitted
Judith Ward: Whoever wins the district
Clayton David Show: Cruz, according to the Tribune Review
August C. Stickel IV: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review
Debra D. Taylor: Undecided. Leaning toward either Trump or whoever wins her district, according to the Tribune Review

10th Congressional District

Ryan Alan Belz: Trump (he reached out to the campaign to express support and they advised him to run for delegate)
Charles John Brewer: Whoever wins the district
Krystle Bristol: Whoever wins the district
Jonathan Hayes: Kasich (followed by Cruz, with no intent to vote for Trump at any point)
Mark Holt: Uncommitted
Pat Saylor: Uncommitted
John Wells: Trump
Mark J. Harris: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review
David Alexander Huffman Jr.: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review
Mario Michael Scavello: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review

11th Congressional District

Richard Adams: Uncommitted. He said he would consider endorsement from the Cruz campaign, his choice now that Rubio is out, but currently not affiliated with a campaign
Philip Bear: Voting for Cruz on first ballot, on any subsequent ballots he will vote for the most electable candidate in his opinion
Carol Drewniak: Cruz
Marlene Faye Loose: Voting for Trump, but she will strongly consider district vote
David McElwee: Trump
Richard Morelli: Trump, based on his prediction that his district will vote for Trump
Thomas Pyne: Cruz, followed by Kasich
Rebecca Warren: Whoever wins the district
Lowman S. Henry: Cruz, according to the Tribune Review
J. Daniel Mosel: Cruz, according to the Tribune Review
Andrew Shecktor: A Trump supporter, he said he’d “likely have to support the popular winning candidate if Trump lost,” according to the Tribune Review

12th Congressional District

Lawrence Borland: Cruz
Howard Robert: Uncommitted
Bruce Keeler: Cruz
Gabriel Keller: Trump
Samuel Miclot: Whoever wins the district
Jill N. Cooper: Whoever wins the district
Joseph Matthew Sernell: Trump
George Steigerwalt: Uncommitted
Christopher H. Fromme: Trump
David J. Majernik: Whoever wins the district
James Vasilko: Whoever wins the district
Robert C. Howard: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review
Michael P. McMullen: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review
Monica Morrill: Undecided, according to the Tribune Review
Louis Roger Valente: Whoever wins his district, according to the Tribune Review

13th Congressional District

Allan Apt: Whoever wins his district
Gilbert Cox: Whoever wins the district
Thomas Ellis: Whoever wins the district
Pamela Levy: Whoever wins the district
Michael McMonagle: Cruz
Shannon Oscar: Whoever wins the district
Lauren Elizabeth Casper: Uncommitted, according to the Tribune Review

14th Congressional District

Cameron Linton: Whoever wins the district
Mary Meloy: Uncommitted
Michael DeVanney: Uncommitted, according to the Tribune Review

15th Congressional District

Malcolm Cole: Cruz
William Heydt: Whoever wins his district
Mark Hoffman: Cruz
Christian Leinbach: Cruz
Ryan Mackenzie: Uncommitted, will consider vote in district, statewide, and the national situation
Dean Browning: Cruz
John Reber: Trump (not recruited)
Scott Uehlinger: Whoever wins the district, though recruited by Trump campaign
Robert E. Smith Jr.: Undecided, according to the Tribune Review

16th Congressional District

Douglas Brubaker: Cruz
Thomas Chiomento: Whoever wins the district
Marcus Lemon: Whoever wins the district, though a Trump supporter
David Dumeyer: Whoever wins the district
Terry R. Christopher: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review

17th Congressional District

Robert Ames: Whoever wins his district
George Paul Blauer: Trump (on all ballots)
Ronald Boltz: Whoever wins the district on first ballot, Cruz on at least second ballot
Carolyn Bonkowski: Trump
Mary Beth Dougherty: Uncommitted
Theresa Gaffney: Trump
Gloria Lee Snover: Whoever wins his district on first ballot, Trump thereafter
Teresa Villano: Trump
Thomas Whitehead: Whoever wins his district

18th Congressional District

Scott Avolio: Whoever wins his district
Justin Deplato: Trump
Charles Konkus: Whoever wins the district
Mary Jo Silvis: Whoever wins the district
Virginia Strain: Whoever wins the district
Sue Ann Means: Cruz, according to the Tribune Review
James R. Means Jr.: Cruz, according to the Tribune Review
John Thomas Petrarca: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review
Albert Ernest Quaye III: Whoever wins the district, according to the Tribune Review

Editor’s note: This article was corrected to reflect that Aaron Cohen is running in the 2nd Congressional District and Seth Kaufer is “Uncommitted.”