The fight for the heart of the Massachusetts GOP is in full swing on Cape Cod. On Jan. 2, Cape and Islands Republican Committee members gathered in a parking lot at Patriot Square in South Dennis and voted to elect Will Crocker as the district’s new state Republican committeeman. Crocker ran to fill a vacancy left by Francis Manzelli, who died on Nov. 19. He defeated opponent Adam Lange, the founder of United Cape Patriots who is known to ride around in a military-style truck adorned with Trump flags and mounted with a fake machine gun. The vote was 97 to 16. But Crocker's election was not ratified at the statewide caucus the next day because Republican State Committee Chairman Jim Lyons, who is closely aligned with President Donald Trump, deemed the caucus vote illegitimate. Crocker backers say the tactic was a power grab.