Del. GOP Backs Ex-Judge for Governor
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Delegates to the state Republican Party convention endorsed Bill Lee (search) on Saturday as the GOP challenger to Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (search).
Lee, a former Superior Court judge, received 254 votes, or 76 percent. He defeated Michael Protack, an airline pilot, who received 79 votes, or about 24 percent.
A candidate must have 60 percent of the vote to win the party's endorsement. The candidate will be formally chosen in the Republican primary in September.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lee failed to win the party's gubernatorial endorsement four years ago, then waged a grassroots primary campaign that brought him within a whisker of the nomination.
Lee told convention delegates he was gratified by their confidence in him. "I believe that I've been called to this purpose," he said.