Posted on 02/11/2016 1:35:23 AM PST by dennisw
The best hope of the Republican establishment just a week ago, Marco Rubio suddenly faces a path to his party's presidential nomination that could require a brokered national convention.
That's according to Rubio's campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, who told The Associated Press that this week's disappointing performance in New Hampshire will extend the Republican nomination fight for another three months, if not longer. It's a worst-case scenario for Rubio and many Republican officials alike
"We very easily could be looking at May -- or the convention," Sullivan said aboard Rubio's jet from New Hampshire to South Carolina Wednesday. "I would be surprised if it's not May or the convention."
The public embrace of a possible brokered convention marks a sharp shift in rhetoric from Rubio's top adviser that could be designed to raise alarm bells among Republican officials. Yet days after a disappointing fifth-place finish in New Hampshire and looking up at Donald Trump in next-up South Carolina, Rubio's presidential ambitions are truly facing growing odds. And as senior aides embraced the possibility of a brokered national convention, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the Rubio operation is "built for a long campaign."
"I don't know of anyone who expected folks to fold up after New Hampshire and go on. There are a lot of candidates," Gowdy said as he was traveling with Rubio on Wednesday. "He's never indicated to me anything other than we're built for the long haul and it's going to be a long haul. But, you're running to be the leader of the free world -- it's supposed to be a challenge."
There hasn't been a contested national convention since 1976, yet Republican National Committee officials have already had preliminary discussions about the possibility of no candidate securing a majority of delegates in the state-by-state primary contests.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
MARCO RUBIO—— the clear choice for GOP hacks and illegal immigration traitors and free trade traitors
Yes, if the voters reject you, there is always the option of a brokered convention to force yourself into power. / sarcasm
FReep You Marco Rubio (FUMR)!!
Already laying the groundwork for when the machine over turns the will of the voters.
Fine, if the Publican National Party steals the nomination from Trump (or Rafael to be fair) it is time for 3rd Party.
Translation: “I can’t convince the voters to elect me so Ima try a smaller, more bribable group; maybe with a little shaming and arm twisting for good measure.”
Apparently when the voters choose other than GOPe- the voters are too stupid- GOPe will force their choice on the citizens
The GOPe hacks and honchos are going public about going the brokered convention route. Obviously they prefer a fractured Republican party that puts a Hillary in the White House OVER getting behind Trump or Cruz and getting him in the White House.
Let them have their brokered convention - it will be the final nail in the coffin. The GOP treats the rank and file like an abused wife - they beat us up, manipulate us, then tell us we have no where to go.
Last time many of us left over Romney, some like me are coming back to vote in the primary. A brokered convention will drive most of the rest away for good.
Trump shows up to the convention with a vast majority of the delegates. And just how do you broker that?
Donald Trump And The GOP’s 40 Percent Nightmare
The real estate mogul could cruise along under 40 percent, and still win or force a brokered convention.
02/10/2016 12:33 pm ET Updated 12 hours ago
Michael McAuliff
Senior Congressional Reporter, The Huffington Post
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump won New Hampshire with 35 percent of the vote on Tuesday, solidifying his place as the front-runner for the Republican 2016 presidential nomination when the party meets for its national convention in Ohio this summer.
But Cleveland, we have a problem. Hitting 35 percent is terrific, in baseball. In politics, it’a still 16 points shy of a victory, and neither Trump nor any other Republican has shown any signs of doing any better than 40 percent in any individual contest.
If the pattern continues — Trump is polling in the mid-30s in the next two nominating states, Nevada and South Carolina — The Grand Old Party could wind up with Trump as the top choice at its convention without the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination.
It’s the sort of implausible scenario journalists like to speculate about every four years, but there hasn’t actually been a so-called “brokered convention” since 1952, when Adlai Stevenson got the Democratic nod on the third ballot.
Indeed, most political observers have been predicting the GOP field will narrow after the early tests, keeping the trend going.
But the New Hampshire results may have actually raised the prospect that Trump will keep trucking along, getting under 40 percent of voter support, and no one else will get enough to dethrone him.
Here’s why: The GOP establishment, which is strongly opposed to Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) because of fears about their electability, has been hoping for a more mainstream candidate to emerge.
For a moment, that looked like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who had an unexpectedly strong showing in Iowa. But he stumbled in the Granite State after his robotic debate performance and finished fifth, right behind the other Floridian hope, former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Journalists use the term “brokered convention” without having any idea what it means.
The well known Rule 40B says the Republican front runner also has to win a majority of delegates in 8 primary states. Trump might not be able to do this in such a split field
GOOD ONE ON BROKERED GOP CONVENTION
Slime!
If you can’t win it at the ballot box, then F the voters rights, we will steal it at the Convention.
We are looking at the end of the GOP Whig party. The people don’t want not Cheap Labor Express illegals, H1b visas. 100 million out of the work force, 50 million on food stamps.
We be tired of lobbyist buying off elected officials to do things against the people’s interest.
Florida is the key to the whole primary.
If Trump wins that, it’s a cake walk to the nomination for him.
If anyone else wins Florida, it’s a delegate fight all the way to the end.
The people writing these articles don’t seem to have actually looked at how most delegates are awarded. In most states they are either winner take all, or winner take all by district, with maybe three delegates for party bosses. For example in CA we have 53 congressional districts. Each of those gets 3 delegates, all to the winner of that district and ten for the overall winner, and three for the party bosses. So if Trump were to win overall with a plurality of say 38% and nobody else got over 25%, with a lead of even 1% in each district, he would get 169 of 172 delegates. Most of the primaries after the first few are winner take all or modified WTA like CA. The establishment set that up so a Romney or Bush could win over a divided field of conservatives. Now they are hoisted on their own petard.
“Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.”
Another big talker politician who accomplishes nothing.
He should be eyeing his resume. Welcome back to the private sector, rube.
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