Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus insists that he's not worried about Dump Trump forces upending next week's convention in Cleveland and yet party operatives are already pressing delegates to resist the effort. AP reports:
Republicans say the Trump-RNC vote-counting "whip" team will swell to 150 when the Cleveland convention is in full swing next week.
In other words, the GOP will have more staffers pushing back against Dump Trump efforts next week than it presently has working the election in four key swing states. According to an AP review, the RNC currently has fewer than 150 full-time staffers combined in Ohio (50), Pennsylvania (60), Colorado (24), and New Hampshire (20 part-timers).
While anti-Trumpers insist they've got the energy to mount an all-out coup, what seems more possible is their ability to unbind delegates by getting a "conscience clause" vote all the way to the floor of the convention. RNC and Trump campaign officials remain convinced that such an up-or-down floor vote would fall Trump's way, but the international spectacle of a floor fight would be worth its weight in gold. That alone could completely undercut a party that's already divided amongst itself and struggling to hold on to some semblance of unity.
A lot depends on what happens in the Convention Rules Committee, which begins work Thursday and consists of delegates rather than RNC officials. AP again:
Kendal Unruh, a Colorado delegate for Cruz and a leader of the "Dump Trump" effort, is pushing a proposal to let delegates vote their "conscience" by supporting the candidate of their choosing. She claims at least 28 members of the 112-member convention rules committee will support her — which if true would mean the full convention could vote on her proposal.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who endorsed Ted Cruz, also sits on the Rules Committee and his vote could be the one most watched by his fellow 111 committee members.
