Pennsylvania GOP presidential delegate chase adds to mystery

(AP) — Pennsylvania, long an afterthought in presidential primary stakes, may emerge as a key player in crowning this year's Republican presidential nominee.

Seventeen other delegates — the state party chairman, Rob Gleason, Pennsylvania's two national GOP committee members and 14 picked in May by party leaders — must vote for the winner of Pennsylvania's statewide primary election, but only on the first convention ballot.

[...] the delegate candidates' names appear on the ballot without any affiliation to a presidential candidate, meaning voters won't necessarily know who they are really supporting.

The rest of the 210 Democratic convention delegates are picked by the party and most must support the winner of the state's presidential primary vote.

Some delegate candidates say they feel bound, at least on the first convention ballot, to vote for whichever presidential candidate wins their congressional district.

The last time a Republican convention was so unsettled, in 1976, candidate Ronald Reagan picked one of Pennsylvania's senators, Richard Schweiker, as his running mate in an effort to pick up support from the state's delegates.