Five states were penalized by the Republican Party for holding their presidential primaries earlier than party rules allowed. These states (New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan and Arizona) were stripped of half of their delegates to the Republican National Convention. This not only reduced their relative clout in the nominating process but also meant those states lost prized delegate spots for party officials in Tampa this year. However, now that the primaries are over and the convention is a week away, the RNC, surprisingly is not lifting the penalty.
