RNC delegates looking to “Dump Trump” have racked up two major wins in the last several days, but chances are looking slim that they’ll find a suitable alternative to the New York real estate mogul before the RNC kicks off next Monday.
On Monday, a member of the “Dump Trump” coalition revealed to the Daily Wire that the group has the requisite 28 votes needed to issue the “minority report” unbinding the 2700 delegates at the convention. A “minority report” will get the proposition unbinding the delegates to the whole convention for a floor vote. Once unbound, delegates would be free to “vote their conscience,” a result that might boot Trump from the nominee dais.
If “Dump Trump” organizers get 57 votes — and they seem optimistic, believing that some delegates may not want to make their sentiments public lest they face wrath from Trump’s team — they can get their version of the rules passed in the Rules Committee without needing a floor vote.
Tuesday morning, anti-Trump forces were given another victory, though a slightly more symbolic one than the one claimed over the weekend. An anti-Trump delegate sued the Virginia Republican Party over a rule that required him to vote for the candidate who won Virginia’s primary.
A state judge, finding that the requirement violated the delegate’s Constitutional rights, unbound Virginia’s delegates from the Virginia GOP rules, though it’s not clear for how long. Trump’s forces have already mobilized to appeal the decision and the national party has told Virginia delegates that they are bound by the rules of the RNC — a private organization — which don’t protect their individual voting rights.
But although some of the “Dump Trump” coalition seems prepared to do battle, they still don’t have an alternative candidate to Donald Trump (though the leader of Delegates Unbound seems to be rather coy about the size of her army). Mitt Romney-led efforts fizzled early, and major donors seem to be sitting on the sidelines. Efforts to coalesce more “Establishment” Republicans and Bush-era “compassionate conservatives” around a qualified outsider died out back in late May.
One thing is patently clear: The RNC will have a big job ahead of them if they intend to marshal delegates around their prospective nominee. The RNC will need 1237 delegates to quash an uprising, and reportedly, they have only around 850 fully committed to Trump. And if Dump Trump does succeed, the convention could turn into an uncontrollable free-for-all.