GOP's winner-take-all rule in California survives test

Unless the courts intercede, the winner of the California Republican primary in June will take all 168 delegates to the national convention. That was assured when an initiative petition that sought proportional distribution of the delegates among presidential candidates failed to qualify Wednesday for the June ballot, according to Monitor correspondent Mark Stevens.

Former California Gov. Ronald Reagan would be expected to benefit the most from retaining the winner- take-all system, the only primary of its type in the nation. But opponents promised a court challenge, on the basis that the signature count on the petition is to close to call and that all counties should have a chance to verify their signatures before the ballot is sealed.