GOP nominates Trump for president

The Republican Party officially nominated Donald Trump for president on Tuesday, capping his remarkable rise from political outsider to the standard-bearer of the GOP.

Trump officially secured the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination after his home state of New York cast 89 delegates for the businessman.

{mosads}Trump’s adult children joined the New York delegation to cast the decisive vote that put Trump over the top. Donald Trump Jr. was given the honor of making the announcement, and he promised his father would put the Empire State in play in November.

“It is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top tonight,” Trump, Jr. said. “Congratulations Dad, we love you.”

The Quicken Loans Arena erupted into a celebration. The convention broke for a few minutes as delegates danced to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

Shortly after, the convention nominated Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be Trump’s running mate in an overwhelming voice vote.

There was speculation leading up to the event that there would be protests from a faction of Never Trump conservatives.

But the response to Trump during a state-by-state roll call vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the billionaire businessman, and there were few audible protests.

At the same time, more delegate votes went against Trump than in any GOP convention since 1976.

Votes for someone other than nominee:
1980: 52
88: 0
92: 19
96: 51
00: 7
08: 23
12: 202
16: 505 (and counting)

— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) July 19, 2016

With only a few exceptions, delegates from state after state stood to announce that their delegation would throw the entirety of their support behind Trump.

Trump will accept the party’s nomination in a speech on Thursday night at the convention’s conclusion, though he is also scheduled to make an appearance on Tuesday night from New York.

It was a strong showing of unity from a party that entered the convention split over their presumptive nominee.

On a night when GOP leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are scheduled to speak, the delegates to the convention rallied behind Trump and finally ended a movement that was hell-bent on blocking him from the nomination.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions officially offered Trump’s name into consideration for president to huge rounds of applause.

Sessions, who is Trump’s top ally on Capitol Hill, lauded him as a disrupter who has tapped into the unease felt by Americans across the country.

“The American voters heard this message, and they rewarded his courage and leadership with a huge victory in our primaries,” Sessions said. “He dispensed with one talented candidate after another, momentum started and a movement started. Democrats and independents responded. He received far more primary votes than any Republican candidate in history.

“Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor and great pleasure to nominate Donald J. Trump for the office of president of the United States,” he said.

Quicken Loans Arena exploded into cheers and chants of “Trump.” 

Rep. Chris Collins (N.Y.), another top Trump supporter on Capitol Hill, seconded Trump’s nomination.

The Republican National Committee and Trump campaign were pushing for a smooth evening at the convention, as they seek to finish off the Never Trump contingent once and for all.

Ryan received a warm reception when he opened the night by instructing the delegates that they must adhere to the rules in an effort to keep the convention in order.

A delegate from Alaska requested the state’s vote tally be recounted, saying his state’s vote count had been misreported in favor of Trump.

The GOP convention was delayed for about ten minutes at 8 p.m. so RNC officials could conduct a poll of the delegation.

But the matter was quickly resolved and there were no further meaningful protests or disruptions.

Delegates from Washington, D.C., could be seen huddling. They voted their conscience, saying they were “duly bound” to throw 10 of their votes to Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and nine to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, two of Trump’s fallen GOP primary rivals.

But the rules that had been gaveled in a day earlier required all of those votes to go to Trump.

Convention-goers booed the rogue delegates, but the proceedings quickly moved on to Florida, which threw all of its support behind Trump.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

This story was updated at 8:29 p.m.