Trumpocalypse:
Tuesday night provided a scary turning point for Speaker Paul Ryan and NRCC Chair Greg Walden. In his third consecutive win, Donald Trump easily locked up Nevada. Not only is he the party’s frontrunner, he’s becoming more and more inevitable rolling into Super Tuesday, which is bad news for House Republicans and their reelection prospects.
Here’s a wrap-up of quotes, from today alone, that should scare Paul Ryan & Greg Walden:
Mitt Romney: “I think there’s no question but that Donald Trump has the clearest path to become the Republican nominee.”
Lindsay Graham: “Unless the field consolidates, Trump is the inevitable nominee. There’s a small chance you can stop him, but that would mean a massive consolidation of the field.” On the down-ballot impact of that: “We won’t lose. We’ll get slaughtered.”
Senator Jeff Flake: “Some of us were surprised by the margin last night. It’s a concern. Very concerning.”
Senator John Thune: Nevada “certainly gives Trump some momentum.”
Congressman Chris Collins: “Donald Trump has clearly demonstrated that he has both the guts and the fortitude to return our nation’s jobs stolen by China, take on our enemies like ISIS, Iran, North Korea and Russia, and most importantly, re-establish the opportunity for our children and grandchildren to attain the American Dream. That is why I am proud to endorse him as the next president of the United States.”
Congressman Duncan Hunter: “I’ve liked Trump since the beginning. I think you have more Trump supporters in Congress. They just have to come out of the closet, so to speak.”
Senator John McCain On whether Donald Trump can “bring the House in line”: “’It all depends on what he does,’ Mr. McCain said in an interview. ‘His positions are topsy-turvy. It’s just impossible to guess.’”
Seperately: “I worry,” said Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, “that the coarseness of the debate, the personalness of the debate, makes it much less likely to unite around the nominee.”
Dave Wasserman, expert on House races: “If it’s not obvious by now, a ship called the Republican Party is perilously close to being hijacked by a populist pirate named Donald Trump. At the last three ports of call — New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — Trump overpowered his rivals, even capturing all 50 of the Palmetto State’s delegates. Armed with a blue-collar following, Trump could continue to win majorities of delegates without winning majorities of voters, and if he does, he could become unstoppable in as soon as three weeks.”
SOURCES: CBS News, NY Times, FiveThirtyEight, Politico, Politico Pro