If a new Reuters poll is accurate, the Republican Party is facing a fairly simple choice at the national convention in July: Give Donald Trump the nomination or lose to the Democrats in November. That’s because 34% of Trump voters say they will not vote for another Republican candidate if their guy is denied the nomination.
“Sixty-six percent said they would vote for the candidate who eventually wins the nomination, white the remaining third were split between a number of alternatives such as not voting, supporting a third-party candidate, and switching parties and voting for the Democratic nominee,” wrote Reuters.
Another online Reuters poll this week shows Trump increasing his national numbers. He now leads the field with 42% support, a ten-point margin over second-place Ted Cruz.
Trump himself lamented the possibility of a contested convention on Friday. “Isn’t it a shame that the person who will have by far the most delegates and many millions more votes than anyone else, me, still must fight,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The Reuters poll doesn’t go into this, but Republicans should be aware that stealing the nomination away from Trump could have ramifications that go beyond 2016. Some establishment types have already admitted that they would rather vote for Hillary Clinton than Trump, so it’s clear that there is at least some comfort in the idea of losing the election this year. But what then? Do they think Trump supporters will forget about this debacle when the midterms come around in 2018? Do they think this movement will be dead by 2020, when we go through this whole thing again?
The phenomenon of Trump has roots that transcend the man himself. His role can’t be minimized, but it’s not just about him. It’s about voters who feel disenfranchised by the Republican Party. It’s about conservatives who are sick of electing politicians who talk like Ronald Reagan on the campaign trail and then act like Democrats when they get into office. It’s about Americans who literally have no idea what is happening to the country they once loved.
We have an awesome, unprecedented chance to ride Trump’s astounding popularity into the White House. To throw it away because he’s at odds with the standard Republican Party platform is beyond foolish. He’s damn well more conservative than Hillary Clinton, is he not?
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