re: #143 Nojay UK

A third-party run by Trump is paradoxically the best the GOP could hope for at this point in time. The Presidency is lost to them but having Trump as their official candidate drags down all the other GOP races. If he’s running a third-party campaign against a sacrificial lamb (Ryan will probably say no but McCain is enough of an egotist that he would probably bite, or Palin maybe as top of the ticket) the GOP faithful will vote for them and the down-ticket races, as will some or most of the 3rd-party Trump voters. What they don’t want is an energised anti-Trump opposition who will pull the Dem lever reflexively on everything else after voting “Hell, NO!” to GOP nominee Trump.

That isn’t going to happen because Trump is focused on winning the GOP nomination. In the unlikely event he doesn’t get quite enough delegates to win on the first ballot and it becomes apparent that the GOP is plotting to hand the nomination to Rubio or someone else (Romney, maybe?), it will be too late for him to get on the ballot as an independent in a lot of states. Whether the GOP Convention is a coronation of Trump or a bitter, multi-ballot fight for the nomination, its going to be fascinating to watch.