There are stormy seas ahead for the Republican Party. With the national election a little over six months away, the Republican establishment seems reluctant to get behind frontrunner Donald Trump. After a substantial victory last Tuesday in New York, with 844 of the Republican delegates, Trump seems poised to win the Republican nomination. The number to reach is 1,237, but there are many in the establishment who will do everything in their power to prevent Trump from winning that number of delegates.
Trump represents the unknown. Having never served in public office or participated in anything remotely related to politics, many Republican politicians are skeptical about his ability to be leader of the free world. Furthermore, there are doubts about how conservative Trump truly is. In the past, he supported the Clinton Foundation and the Democratic Party. What exactly does "Make American Great Again" mean? Trump rarely elaborates on his plans for doing so, except for repeated mantras about building a wall and repealing the Affordable Care Act. Those who are educated Republican voters most likely feel a similar uncertainty about what a Trump presidency would really look like.
A Washington Post article published by Dan Balz cites that there exists "conflict between the revulsion many of them have felt toward a candidate who has trampled on core GOP values and inflamed much of the electorate and a grudging acceptance that it is increasingly likely that the controversial New York billionaire will be leading them into a fall campaign against Hillary Clinton." There is much unrest about which Donald Trump is the real Donald Trump. Recently, he has toned back his negative and often bigoted rhetoric in hopes of bridging the gap between his campaign and the Republican establishment, but the snarky commentary all too often still rears its ugly head. There have also been rumors that his campaign is a tough facade in comparison to the policy he will put into place once in office. Conservatives fear that his policies will be far more liberal than all of his vows on the campaign trail.
The Republican Party is in a very tough spot. If Trump fails to attain the 1,237 delegates needed to become the nominee, there will be a contested convention. This process will essentially disenfranchise the voters in all of the preceding primaries, which does not bode well for the Republican Party in maintaining their relationship with the people. On the other hand, the party is in desperate need of a candidate that can take on and defeat Hillary Clinton. Most polls show Donald Trump is not that candidate. It will be fascinating to see the process unfold in the coming months.
