The Wall Street Journal editorial board, representing the business-friendly, moderate wing of the Republican Party, is calling on GOP candidates still in the race to amp up efforts to thwart Donald Trump’s march to the party’s nomination.
The Journal acknowledged in an editorial in Thursday’s paper that Trump has big steam in the primary, especially after taking a plurality of delegates on Super Tuesday. It said, though, that it is still possible for the remaining candidates, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich, to use their resources ahead of the next contests to deny Trump a majority of the delegates he needs.
“His competitors must still beat him in the large winner-take-all states, which is a tall task, but if they do they could block him from gaining a majority before the GOP convention,” the Journal said. “Then anything could happen. This will require continued pounding on Mr. Trump from all of the remaining candidates…”
A vast segment of the GOP, mostly party veterans, are coordinating to stop Trump from taking the nomination, though he’s beating his rivals in every national and most state-level polls.
Some say that if at least two of the other candidates drop out, GOP voters will rally behind the non-Trump candidate. Time, however, is running out, making it easier for Trump to amass momentum with each primary win.
Marco Rubio has not dropped out, even though he has only won one caucus state so far, Minnesota. His continued presence in the race suggests he is counting on a brokered GOP convention, where the party will have to reorganize to select its nominee, a move that would signal a fractured party ahead of the general election.
