WASHINGTON -- While Alan Keyes didn't earn any delegates with his 21 percent of the vote in Utah's winner-take-all GOP primary Friday, his showing did bring him some big money.
It qualified him for federal public matching funds.By giving him at least 20 percent of the vote, Utah Republicans single-handedly made Keyes the only presidential candidate to regain his eligibility for public funding. (Keyes had lost public funding through his poor performance in early primaries.)
He now may receive public financing to match any qualifying money that he has raised or will raise through the Republican National Convention, which begins July 31.
"It's a very big deal to us. We are unbelievably grateful to the fine folks in Utah," said Mary Parker Lewis, chief of staff to Keyes. "We now can keep going through the convention."
Some complicated rules had appeared to disqualify Keyes from public matching funds, Lewis said.
A candidate loses eligibility if on two consecutive primary/caucus dates, he finishes with less than 10 percent of the vote in all states participating those days.
Keyes finished with less than 10 percent in consecutive primaries in New Hampshire and Delaware. However, rules don't actually stop the flow of matching funds for another 30 days afterward. Lewis said she figured that would be March 9, the day before the Utah primary.
The only way by law to restore eligibility is for a candidate to receive at least 20 percent of the vote in a primary.
"We received 20 percent of the vote in Minnesota (on March 7, Super Tuesday), but that was a caucus -- not a primary," Lewis said.
She added that the Keyes campaign prayed that it might break that barrier in Utah a few days later. That's one reason Keyes flew to campaign there, including holding a rally with 5,000 people at Utah Valley State College.
"We felt confident we would at least finish with double digits in Utah because of grass-root support we saw there. But breaking the 20 percent was a prayed-for target, a strategic target," Lewis said.
Keyes' prayers were answered -- barely -- when he won 21 percent of the vote. The low voter turnout in Utah's first presidential primary helped Keyes.
With that, Lewis said Keyes plans to continue his campaign up to the Republican National Convention -- even though George W. Bush appears to have the GOP nomination secured.
"We anticipate a great deal of political fighting remaining over the principles and platform of the Republican Party even if the delegate count becomes a foregone conclusion," she said.
She said Keyes will continue to speak out for inclusion of conservative planks in the party platform, and seek delegates to support that. And all of that will now be financially possible thanks to his friends in Utah.
Of note, the states where Keyes has had the highest share of the vote so far are: Utah, 21 percent; Minnesota, 20 percent; Iowa, 14 percent; and Wyoming 12 percent. He has finished in single digits in all other states.