Fifty-six primary contests were conducted to choose 2,472 delegates . In 50 states and territories the delegates were allocated to candidates by popular vote either statewide or on the congressional district level and then elected according to state rules . In six states and territories , the first-instance popular vote did not allocate any delegates ; they were elected later at local conventions and either bound to a candidate or uncommitted . Most delegates were elected as bound delegates , meaning that they were required to vote for a specific candidate on the first ballot at the national convention . Some delegates attended the convention as unbound or uncommitted delegates , meaning that they were free to vote for anyone at the first ballot . These 130 uncommitted delegates included 18 unbound RNC delegates and 112 delegates that have been elected or allocated as uncommitted . Uncommitted delegates were still at liberty to express a preference for a candidate , although that preference was not binding . Among the 901 delegates elected for candidates who later dropped out of the race , 155 were still bound to vote for their candidate on the first ballot and 34 were released according to the local rules of each state party . If no candidate were elected in the first round of voting , a progressively larger number of delegates would have been allowed to vote for the candidate of their choice . The voting rules on subsequent ballots were determined by individual states : most states released their delegates on the second round of voting , and only four states kept them bound on the third round and beyond
national convention
2016 Republican National Convention
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries