The Washington Post reported Thursday that a number of Republican officials, including Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), had a dinner on Monday where they discussed how the party would handle a so-called brokered convention.
Advertisement
“Ross Perot in 1992 didn’t start petitioning until March”, said Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News.
Perot, a Texas businessman, got 19 percent of the vote in 1992 and Bill Clinton was elected president with 43 percent. While Carson is slipping in recent polls, an independent bid that siphoned even a few percentage points away from the party’s nominee could make it all but impossible for the Republican nominee to win the general election. But there has not been one in more than 60 years.
This plan, the Post reports, would go into effect if Trump were to emerge from next year’s Republican primaries as the eventual nominee.
Perhaps anticipating the release of the latest numbers, Trump took to Twitter on Friday to suggest the poll was an outlier: Never get good #s from failing Des Moines Register/Bloomberg. Carson has recently slipped a bit while more establishment Republicans like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have struggled. SC holds the South’s first Republican presidential primary February 20.
The retired neurosurgeon then clarified that he would not launch a third-party run for president.
“This was founded as a tremendous country”, Carson said.
Trump said he would likely ride it out if there were a brokered convention, though his campaign is still preparing a strategy in case such a thing ever comes to fruition. And Carson probably could, too.
Any third-party or independent candidate would be a longshot to win the presidency.
Probably not, said Stone, the political scientist.
Mary Johnson of Norwalk, who came with her husband, Rick, and son, Alex, to hear Trump speak, said she planned to caucus for him February 1. In other words, somebody that they don’t support.
An outright bound-delegate majority for, say, Rubio would be ideal for the party.
Trump’s campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment, but those close to Trump privately say he’s focused on winning the nomination and don’t deny he’s using the threat as leverage.
If you dislike Trump and have no problem with the plans of the establishment, think of how you would react if they treated your favorite candidate the same way? If that means blowing up the party, they will blow up the party.
The news network reported Friday morning that Carson is following the lead of GOP front-runner and said that he would consider leaving the party if a potential candidate deal between Republican leaders becomes reality.
Advertisement
Outside the rally, about a dozen Iowans gathered to protest Trump’s appearance in Iowa while one man briefly disrupted the rally inside the fairgrounds’ building before he was removed by security officers while supporters shouted “Trump” and “USA”.
