The amicable cheerleading sessions referred to as "national conventions" for the country's two major parties may be a thing of the past - at least this year - as it’s possible no candidate will secure the delegates needed to secure their parties nomination.

On the morning after “Super Tuesday,” when more than 20 states held primaries or caucuses, Sen. John McCain of Arizona had garnered the most delegates among Republican presidential candidates at 613. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 269, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tallied 190. A total of 1,191 delegates are needed to win the party’s nomination.

On the Democratic side, it’s an even closer race. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton earned 845 delegates to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s 765. To secure the Democratic nomination, 2,065 delegates are needed.

The primary and caucus processes will culminate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver Aug. 25-28, and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis Sept. 1-4.

But the first step in the process for county Republican supporters is tonight, when delegates identified in the August 2006 Primary election will gather at the Munnecke Room of the Leland Library to determine who will represent them at the state convention Feb. 15-16 in Lansing.

“The sole purpose of the meeting is to elect delegates who will represent our group the following weekend in Lansing,” said Joan Jackson of Northport, a longtime GOP insider who has worked on national presidential campaigns dating back to 1964.

The agenda at the state convention includes the election of a delegates to represent Michigan in the Republican National Convention. Michigan has Republican delegates broken down in the following way: three representatives from its 15 congressional districts (45), plus 12 “at large” delegates distributed on the percentage of the vote each of the candidate received in the state convention (Romney, 6; McCain, 4 and Huckabee, 2). Then, there are “super delegates” – the state chairman and the national committee chairs.

Each of the delegates will attend their party’s convention and is committed to vote for the candidate they represent on the first vote only.

Since 1952, no convention has gone beyond the first ballot. That year, it took Democrats three ballots to nominate Gov. Adlai Stevenson. The GOP’s last multi-ballot convention occurred four years earlier, in 1948, when New York Gov. Thomas Dewey won in another three-ballot contest before going on to lose to Harry Truman.

In fact, only one convention has been seriously contested at all in the past four decades — the Republican Convention in 1976, when Gerald Ford barely beat Ronald Reagan on the first ballot. Party rules adopted since 1968 make contest conventions unlikely. But the change in state’s primary elections and the close race, particularly in the Democratic Party, increase the likelihood of real debate and more than the usual “pep assembly” aired by network television.

Because Michigan held its Primary election prior to Feb. 5, the National Republican Committee has said it will take away half of its delegates. The Democratic National Committee has said it will punish by revoking all of the state’s 156 delegates.

“The question is whether the national committees will reverse their decisions at the conventions and allow the state a complete delegation,” Jackson said.

A schism has developed in the Republican party between the conservative base and the more moderate wing that supports McCain as the candidate. The Republican candidates who are still in the race were scheduled to meet today with the Conservative Political Action Committee in Washington, to seek seek conservative support at the nation’s largest annual gathering of activists, students and policymakers.

Leelanau County's Democratic delegates

• Bingham Township —Edward Rom and Laura Swire
• Centerville Township — Charlene Goral and James Schwantes
• Cleveland Township — none
• Elmwood Township Precinct No. 1— Nancy Conn
• Elmwood Township Precinct No. 2 — Jon Boulton
• Empire Township — Betsy Johnson
• Glen Arbor Township — Carol Hilton
• Kasson Township — Traci Cruz and Barbara Schneider
• Leelanau Township — Pauline McCluare and James Ham
• Leland Township — George Ball and Martha Ryan
• Solon Township — Fred Cepela
• Suttons Bay Township — Jacquelyn Freeman-Jordan

Leelanau County's Republican delegates

•Bingham Township — Duane Bingel, Patricia Foster, Robert Foster, Christopher Smith.
• Centerville Township — none.
• Cleveland Township — Charles J. Ryant Jr. (dec.). Rosalind Ryant, Joyce Stackable.
• Elmwood Township, Precinct No. 1 — Donald Barrows, Mary Barrows, Noel Flohe, John Gallagher, Stanley Kouchnerkavich, Joan Maule, Debbie Street, Jean I. Watkoski, Sharon Wise.
• Elmwood Township, Precinct No. 2 — Connie Preston.
• Empire Township — Aurora Glettler, Bernard Glettler (dec.), Susan Kroeger, Joanne Palmer.
• Glen Arbor Township — Gwen Baxter, William Baxter, Lance Roman, Merek Roman.
• Kasson Township — Pauline East, Greg Julian, David McNeil, Fran Triebes.
• Leelanau Township — Joan Jackson, Joan Kalchik, Lonette Morley, Albert Porter, Marie Porter, Michael TenBrock, Mary Tonneberger, Ronald Tonneberger.
• Leland Township — Peggy Kolarik, Wilma McQueen, Helen Stimson, Donna Stanton.
• Solon Township — James Lautner.
• Suttons Bay Township — Eric Lind, Virginia Lind, David McCulloch, Marjorie McCulloch, Gerald VanHuystee and Sandra VanHuystee.