It was a late start Wednesday morning for many delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
The speeches ended at 11:00 p.m. Tampa time, but it took some Kansas and Missouri delegates nearly three, or in some cases four, hours to leave the Tampa Bay Times Forum, take shuttles to a nearby transfer station, pass through security, then grab a second shuttle back to their airport hotels.
Breakfast for the Missouri crowd was pushed back by 90 minutes so everyone could get some sleep.
Security here has been tight, as expected, and a bit unorganized. The layout of the convention venue is awkward, leading to security choke points in some places.
But lines have moved relatively quickly, and should move even better on the second day of the convention.
Ron Paul delegates are still angry about their treatment Tuesday.
During the roll call of the states, Missouri's David Cole announced 45 votes for Mitt Romney, 4 votes for Ron Paul, and 3 votes for **Rick Santorum. In Kansas it was 39 Romney, 1 Santorum.
But only the votes for Romney counted officially. That's because no other name was allowed in nomination, which struck many delegates as a pretty top-down ruling. An attempt to revise the rules was turned back by voice vote, a decision Paul delegates also thought was rigged.
"It's like they want to grind our faces in it," said one Missouri alternate for Paul.
Paul supporters in Missouri were glad their votes were at least announced publicly. Some states announced non-Romney votes as abstentions.
There has been some good-natured joshing between Kansas and Missouri delegates, who are seated close to each other on the convention floor -- a rare occurrence.
The seats are poor, far to the left of the stage with a restricted view of the podium. Kansans are tucked in behind the Missourians, which Show-Me state delegates are quick to point out.
"They won't ever get any balloons dumped on them," Dee McKee, an alternate delegate from Manhattan, said of her Kansas delegation.
Kansans chuckle when a reporter suggests Missouri might have preferred to sit closer to SEC conference states.
"They're right here with us, aren't they?" said one Kansas delegate.
Early reviews suggest Ann Romney's prime time speech was a big hit with delegates, while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's keynote was a bit more uneven.
Mrs. Romney's job was to connect with working women voters, and many think her obvious reach for those voters worked. Observers also thought her argument that her husband would not fail was effective and extremely well-delivered.
"The highlight of my evening was Ann Romney," said state Rep. Tim Jones at Wednesday's Missouri caucus. "There's a lady who's been proud of her country all her life."
"The thing that struck me was when she said you can trust him," said Karen Matthews of Lawrence, a guest of the Kansas delegation. "She started out on the bottom, too."
Christie's speech, some thought, focused more on him than on the party and the ticket. There was also less red meat than expected.
More than a few observers noticed Ann Romney's speech talking about "love," while Christie said he wanted "respect," not love.
Up tonight: Paul Ryan.
Don't forget Rep. Todd Akin's Senate campaign. Missouri Republicans are still split over his candidacy, with leaders privately hoping yet again Akin drops out while Akin supporters are digging in.
This morning, Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts added his voice to a growing chorus of Republicans who think Akin needs to withdraw from the race.
Roberts, who would ascend to the chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee if the GOP retakes control of the Senate, said if Akin remains in the race the Senate could wind up split 50-50.
"It could come down to that," he said.
Roberts said the six-term Missouri congressman is a little unusual.
"He's got a different drum," Roberts said.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback reminded the delegation about the importance of good results in the November election when it comes to Kansas races.
“We had a great cycle in 2010, when we took all the statewide offices—remember five of six of them were held by Democrats in 2010—and that was a clean sweep we need to repeat,” Brownback said.
"We need `Clean Sweep II' this fall."
Statewide offices aren't on the ballot this year, but legislative races for the House and Senate are. Brownback is already assured of conservative majorities in both the House and Senate, but still wants to see Republicans out in droves in November.
Democrats are on the ballot in 31 of 40 Senate seats and 89 of 125 House districts in the November election.
