Options at a Brokered Convention

[AFTT47]

If no Republican candidate wins a total of 1237 delegates, there will be a brokered convention. This is a very real possibility. It is very unlikely that anyone other than Donald Trump has any realistic chance to get to 1237. But Trump may not get there either. This is especially true if he fails to win both Florida and Ohio. Even if he does win both, either Rubio or Kasich remaining in the race would all but guarantee he would not get to 1237. They could certainly justify remaining in the race in the face of a brokered convention. But then what?

Assuming nobody wins 1237 delegates, there are only two reasonable possibilities: Trump has the most with Cruz in second or Cruz has the most with Trump in second. Is there truly a realistic option to choose a candidate who is not the top delegate earner - perhaps even one who came in third or fourth? It seems to me like there would be such a voter backlash, the very continued existence of the party would be in question. This is especially true if Trump holds the most delegates and a different candidate is chosen. In that scenario, I have a hard time imagining Trump NOT running as an independent or even as a candidate of a newly formed party. The Republican candidate would likely come in third place in the general election.

So can the Republicans REALLY afford to screw over Trump? I don't see them taking such a risk. If Cruz passes Trump in delegates then he should be awarded the nomination but only then. And then they can pray that Trump won't still run as an independent.

It massively sucks to be Republican.