“I’m not sure why there’s still people, even after IN, hanging onto the idea that something else is going to happen other than Trump is going to be the nominee”, Fitzgerald said.
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In Arizona – where about a fifth of eligible voters are Hispanic, according to 2014 data from Pew Research Center – McCain is widely considered safe against his Democratic opponent, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.
But McCain is sharply critical of Trump’s immigration views – and he knows full well the presumptive GOP nominee’s remarks about Latinos could imperil his own reelection. They’ve been tying his controversial, incendiary comments about women and communities of color to fellow Republicans, who must then decide whether to disavow their party’s nominee. Trump has actually gone after McCain on the POW kind of thing.
That’s according to a recording obtained by Politico of McCain speaking at a private fundraiser last month.
Two dozen seats are up for reelection this year, and many of those seats are in purple and blue states.
The event was held last month, before Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out of the race and Trump’s win in IN left him as the presumptive GOP nominee, and McCain’s statements differed from his public stance, which is that Trump won’t hurt his election chances.
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney have all announced they will sit out the 2016 convention in Cleveland.
Democrats say much more of the same is yet to come.
Toomey’s spokesman Ted Kwong said that Toomey has made clear he disagrees with Trump in several areas, and accused McGinty of being “a total rubber stamp for Hillary Clinton and the Washington party bosses”.
“We have repeatedly called on Pat Toomey to distance himself from those and other comments of Donald Trump’s and he’s refused”, said Katie McGinty, Democrats’ Senate nominee in Pennsylvania.
Yet Toomey, McCain and the other Republicans running for re-election find themselves in a no-win situation.
Kelly Ayotte said through a spokeswoman that she would support Trump, but not formally endorse him.
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Trump’s ability to secure the nomination with only fledgling support from the party is one more factor that upended conventional wisdom in his remarkable rise towards winning the nomination.
