president trump's new campaign has launched a challenge. they deployed an unprecedented effort to monitor and influence local party operations. the snift has included taking steps to change state party rules, crowd out potential rivals and quell any early signs of opposition that could embarrass the trump. the campaign has used lobbying and rule changes to increase the ability only loyal participants make it to the national convention. jim lyons defeated the candidate backed by massachusetts republican charlie baker, a trump critic to serve as the state party chairman. one senior adviser to the trump campaign calls it a process of ensuring that the national convention is a television commercial for the president for an audience of 300 million and not an internal fight.