Tuesday 6 March 2012: 55 of Tennessee's 58 delegates to the Republican National Convention are pledged to presidential contenders in today's Tennessee Presidential Primary.

27 district delegates, 3 from each of the 9 congressional districts, are to be allocated to the presidential contenders based on the primary results in each congressional district. [ByLaws of the Tennessee Republican Party. Article IX. Rule C. Section 1. and Section 4A.]

• If a candidate receives more than 2/3 of the vote in a congressional district, that candidate receives all 3 delegates.
• Otherwise, if only 1 candidate receives 20% or more of the vote, that candidate receives all 3 delegates.
• Otherwise, if 2 or more candidates receive more than 20% of the vote, the highest vote getter receives 2 delegates and the next highest vote getter receives 1 delegate.
• Otherwise, the top 3 vote getters each receive 1 delegate.
• The district delegates are directly elected and appear on the primary ballot.

The 28 At-Large delegates are bound to presidential contenders based on the primary results statewide. [Article IX. Rule C. Section 1. and Section 4B.]

• If a candidate receives more than 2/3 of the vote statewide, that candidate receives all 28 delegates.
• Otherwise, if only 1 candidate receives 20% or more of the vote, that candidate receives all 28 delegates.
• Otherwise, if 2 or more candidates receive more than 20% of the vote, the delegates are distributed proportionally to those candidates receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote. (Here, the "total qualified vote" is the total number of votes cast to those candidates receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote.)
• Otherwise, delegates are distributed proportionally. (The "total qualified vote" = total statewide vote.)
• One half of the at-large delegates are directly elected and appear on the primary ballot.

Proportional distribution and rounding: Beginning with the candidate who received the most votes, multiply [the percentage of votes received] by [28 National Convention Delegates] and divide by [total qualified vote]. Round any remainder up to the next whole number. Repeat for the next highest vote getter until all 28 delegates are allocated.

The 28 At-Large delegates include the 10 "at-large" and 18 bonus delegates apportioned to Tennessee. These delegates are bound to Presidential candidates based on the results of the primary. Half are elected in the primary and half are appointed by the Executive Committee with the consent of the respective Presidential campaigns. When determining "half" divide the total number of At-Large delegates by 2. If there are fractional delegates, round up the number of delegates appointed by the Executive Committee and round down the number of delegates determined by the Primary. [Article IX. Rule C. Section 2.]

• 28 At-Large delegates ÷ 2 = 14.
• 14 are elected in the Primary and 14 are appointed by the Executive Committee.

Saturday 7 April 2012 (tentative): State Executive Committee meets.

The State Executive Committee elects the 14 remaining at-large delegates.

3 party leaders, the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the Tennessee's Republican Party, will attend the convention as unpledged delegates by virtue of their position.

At the National Convention, delegates are bound for at least 2 ballots. TCA §§2-13-307(b) and 2-13-308.

Notes:

HB 612 (filed by State Representative Gerald McCormick (Republican) on 10 February 2011) and SB 599 (filed by state Senator Mark Norris (Republican) on 10 February 2011) was signed by Governor William "Bill" Haslam on 9 May 2011. The law changes the date of the Presidential primary from the 1st Tuesday in February (7 February 2012) to the first Tuesday in March (6 March 2012). Statue: Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-13-205.

14 February 2011: State Representative Gerald McCormick (Republican) introduced HB 793. This bill changes the date of the Presidential Primary from the 1st Tuesday in February (7 February 2012) to the first Tuesday in March (6 March 2012).

16 February 2011: State Senator Mark Norris (Republican) introduced SB 929. This bill changes the date of the Presidential Primary from the 1st Tuesday in February (7 February 2012) to the first Tuesday in March (6 March 2012).

14 February 2011: State Representative Craig Fitzhugh (Democratic) introduced HB 760. This bill moves moves the Presidential Primary from the 1st Tuesday in February to the same day as the county primary, the 1st Tuesday in May.

17 February 2011: State Senator Jim Kyle (Democratic) introduced the companion bill to HB 760, SB 1875.