Posted on 09/19/2015 1:16:50 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Donald Trump may be a hit with the public, but Republicans appear to have little confidence.
Seemingly immune to controversies and gaffes that would have ruined less ridiculous men, Donald Trump has topped every single poll taken on the Republican Primary race since late July.
But while his controversial views on everything from immigration to trade with China have appealed to a wide swathe of Americans, it has earned him few friends within the party.
Statistics site FiveThirtyEight has analysed the endorsements given to each candidate by their fellow party members, weighting the approval of governors, senators and representatives in descending order.
Endorsements, the site says, have proven a reliable indicator in past primaries, with 'party elites' gathering around the candidate they deem most acceptable, and rank-and-file voters usually following.
Looking at this year's primary races offers some surprising insights. Despite a rather drab campaign thus far, Jeb Bush leads the Republican pack with three senators and 20 representatives endorsing him.
Far more shocking is that Trump does not rank at all. To date, he has not recieved a single endorsement for an incumbent Republican, placing him behind stragglers Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum, who have one each.
Rather more predictably, Hillary Clinton has almost total Democratic backing, with 341 (weighted) endorsements to Joe Biden's 16.
FiveThirtyEight freely admits there have been exceptions to their findings - Hillary Clinton received more endorsements in 2008 than Barack Obama - but it's concerning news for Trump nonetheless.
Of course, like Obama, he could continue to ride a wave of popular support from outside the party, but it is unlikely even a dis-united Republican Party would allow Trump to take the nod.
The 'party elites' may also feel more at ease since Trump's pledge two weeks ago not to run as an independent candidate - a move that would likely split the Republican vote and guarantee a second successive Democrat in the White House.
Will Trump trump the odds and claim the Republican nomination, endorsements be damned?
It wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing he's ever done.
So John Boner and Mitch McTurtle probably won’t endorse The Donald?
Yeah—That’s really gonna make me have second thoughts about Trump.
European elites trying to analyze the American rubes?
Endorsements really helped presidents McCain and Romney didn’t they!
Duh....another hit piece....well time to get to work and find hit pieces on the people that write this garbage!!!
agreed I think the 538 guy is gay for starters
Are they saying the voters no longer matter to the GOP?
He is endorsed by quite a few voters.
He doesn’t need the RNC’s money that is what really is bothering the RNC.
Hey Trump has the endorsement of Tom Brady, beats the heck out of say a Chris Christie or whoever
Of course Trump will get no “endorsements”.
Trump will be beholden to no one but the voters, though anyone else who might win the nomination (for EITHER party) will essentially be owned by rich and powerful individuals and organizations who raise the thousands of millions of dollars of the necessary campaign “contributions”.
That is why the big-money power brokers are in such a quandary. Ordinarily, they simply buy whomever looks to be most likely to win, but Trump doesn’t need nor want their money, so all they can do at that point is either attack Trump, “contribute” to losers (which is pretty pointless), or pull out of the game (which again is pointless). Therefore, the only rational option for the rich and powerful (and their media minions) is to take out Trump. They have no other choice.
These guys are just, well very ignorant. That is being nice. They need to mind their own business and tend to their muzzie migrants.
More tall storytelling coming from the pubs of Ireland.
They never did.
The GOPee is unanimous, no way can Trump win.
So the entire concept is that because party leaders don’t like someone, this disqualifies them from winning the presidency, even when they’re polling as winner take all against every other candidate in the field nationally.
Of course.
It isn’t like these same party leaders have lost two consecutive EASY runs at the White House by running candidates so weak that a social activist who grew up a Muslim could beat them, even with job performance ratings that were in the tank...
We should DEFINITELY do whatever they don’t like. As apparently, they are obviously out of touch with even their own party, much less the national mood.
Honest question, not suggesting or supporting anything...
What is the likelihood that Trump will be HueyLong-ed (i.e., assassinated) sometime between now and the convention?
I think it’s pretty realistic. Trump is in his own world, and at the moment he can afford to pay for it. People here don’t seem to realize how much of the “buzz” has been bought and paid for by Trump himself. That’s how Romney got the candidacy last time around - he was a wealthy man and paid for much of it himself.
Yeah..., we drones are all standing beside our boob-tubes waiting for endorsements from our "betters"! Right???
Because would put him in lock step with their agenda, and he’s NOT!!!
endorsements, and delivery of the ground game those incumbents possess, does make a difference. Never before have so many incumbent Republicans withheld their endorsement. They obviously want to wait and then get on the bandwagon of the winner and not be caught supporting a loser.
But they don’t want Trump. If Trump were to be the candidate he would energize voters over whom the incumbent career politicians have not influence. The incumbents fear that.
So they want to unite behind one of their own. But they don’t know who.
Rubio was a possibility. But his staffer’s tiff with Paul’s staffer make Rubio (and Paul) damaged goods.
That leaves Carly as the only credible alternative to Trump. Incumbents see her as the lesser of two evils and actually helping their own campaigns for lesser office. Incumbents have the advantage of not caring about consistency. For them, it’s all about expediency.
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