W.Va. GOP Convention Update - Updated

In advance of a Nov. 30 deadline, at least 80 Mountain State Republicans have filed for the 1,446 delegate seats slated for the party's "Tsunami Tuesday" Feb. 5 presidential convention, The Associated Press reports.

About 60 percent of the spots will be filled automatically, by county and state party officials and GOP officeholders.

But the party also needs candidates for 610 slots that will be decided when Republicans vote online or at county conventions in January.

Of the 80 people who filed as of Monday, 47 seek those at-large spots. Chairman Bob Fish is banking on the convention web site, e-mails and county-level events to spread the word. The convention also has an advertising budget, he said.

"We're really staking the measure of success on the level of representation we see at the convention," Fish told AP. "That means having as close to 1,446 delegates as possible. That will be the real telling point."

Convention organizers have posted an updated roster of delegates online, along with the necessary registration forms and other info.

"At least 20 other states plan to hold primaries or caucuses Feb. 5," the article said. "But organizers expect West Virginia's convention to post the first results by several hours, potentially giving the party a prominent role in national press coverage."

More than half of the delegates who have registered so far, meanwhile, are not committed to any of the nine participating presidential candidates. Fish said that trend could encourage the candidates to attend personally and make a pitch to delegates during the two-hour speech period.

"It could be that we're seeing people who are planning to make up their mind at the convention," Fish told AP. "If one candidate comes in and really presents himself well, that could be the determining factor."

Update: The number of delegate filings has risen to 104, including 64 for at-large spots. More than half the would-be delegates are uncommitted. Of the rest, 17 support Fred Thompson, 15 support Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul have six apiece.

Update II: The GOP in New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wyoming have found out the hard way that the national party is serious about Feb. 5 being the earliest date to hold primaries or caucuses. The Republican National Committee has stripped each state of half its delegates to the September presidential convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, AP reports.