A group called Conservatives Against Trump, which is a core part of the “#NeverTrump” campaign, declared Tuesday night that it will continue to work against Donald Trump becoming the presidential nominee of the Republican Party in 2016.
“We believe a Trump nomination is not inevitable despite tonight’s result,” said spokesperson Deborah DeMoss Fonseca, in a statement, defying Trump’s sweep of Indiana delegates and the decision by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to withdraw from the race.
Fonseca called for Trump’s opponents to use the Republican National Convention to stage a final stand against him, whether he achieves the 1,237 delegates necessary for a majority on the first ballot or not.
Fonseca’s full statement is as follows:
Conservatives Against Trump are dismayed at tonight’s result, but not deterred. Polling continues to show that a huge swath of Republicans want a candidate other than Trump to run against Hillary Clinton in November — and this is to say nothing of the countless independents to which the party will need to appeal in order to prevail.
We believe a Trump nomination is not inevitable despite tonight’s result. We believe that an open and fair convention can produce a viable Republican candidate. As a coalition, we will continue to pursue this goal.
Trump has continued to show remarkable weakness for a “frontrunner” in key parts of the country, including the Mountain West and the Midwest — home to swing states like Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Iowa. He has no apparent path to victory in Virginia. At this stage in the election cycle, the nominee should have already united the vast majority of Republicans.
Trump’s unfavorable ratings are sky-high, with only KKK leader David Duke faring worse in public opinion polling. Trump cannot self-finance; and if he is the GOP nominee, it will vastly raise the cost of the other state and local Republicans running.
Trump is a walking, talking, in-kind donation to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party. His nomination is one that Republican delegates and voters should not sign off on.
The GOP must not nominate a reckless political opportunist, who does not share our values or vision. Trump primarily seems to be pursuing the presidency as if it were some sort of new hobby designed to satisfy his great psychological need for attention and affection.
Other conservative holdouts staged protests on social media, burning their voter registration cards or declaring their intention to vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election, assuming she wins the nomination. (Clinton lost to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in Indiana on Tuesday.)
But Liz Mair, who helped lead the #NeverTrump effort, along with GOP consultant Rick Wilson, with her Make America Awesome Super PAC, seemed resigned to the result: “In view of tonight’s events, it’s obviously significantly harder to see how Donald Trump does not become the GOP nominee,” she said in a statement.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is the only Trump opponent remaining in the race, at least officially:
NEW TONIGHT: Statement from John Kasich's chief strategist @JWGOP on why Kasich is staying in —> pic.twitter.com/U1PxxeVt9u
— Kailani Koenig (@kailanikm) May 4, 2016
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new e-book, Leadership Secrets of the Kings and Prophets: What the Bible’s Struggles Teach Us About Today, is on sale through Amazon Kindle Direct. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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