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GOP Govs Panic Over Trump

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GOP Govs Panic Over Trump

RGA Holds ‘Emergency Call’ over Trump Impact on Gov Races

It’s Super Tuesday – and Republican governors have reached full panic mode over Donald Trump.

The Republican Governors Association “convened an emergency conference call” Monday to discuss Trump, according to a report by Politico. The   call – led by RGA Chair Susana Martinez (R-NM) and Vice Chair Scott Walker (R-WI) – is the latest episode in weeks of escalating panic among Republican governors. After the private call, Martinez refused to answer questions from the AP about whether she’d support Trump as the nominee.

GOP governors have expressed deep concern about Trump’s impact on the Republican brand and on 2016 races. Several governors and gubernatorial candidates have refused to say whether they’d support Trump as the nominee. An RGA-recruited candidate in Vermont admitted that Trump would “probably” hurt his chances in November. And, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson – a Rubio endorser — warned Monday that the presidential pick affects “whether we’re going to continue to elect Republican governors across the country.”

Below is a summary of GOP governors panicking over Trump:

Politico: Trump closes in on Super Tuesday romp

“Governors…convened an emergency conference call on Monday on which Trump was Topic A…”

“Reflecting that angst, on Monday morning, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the heads of the Republican Governors Association, convened fellow governors for an unusual conference call to discuss how the primary was unfolding — and Trump was a central topic of conversation.” [2/29/16]

Boston Globe: Donald Trump’s success worries GOP governors

“Faced with the rising prospect of Donald Trump as their party’s nominee, Republican governors traded concerns over the weekend about the political fallout facing state GOP candidates who would share the ballot with him […] Some hinted at a coordinated response to limit collateral damage caused by a Trump candidacy on Republican candidates for governor.”

“Republicans are concerned that the downdraft created by a nominated Trump could linger for years.” [2/22/16]

Politico: Rubio’s Playbook

Last week, Karl Rove delivered a presentation during a gathering of the Republican Governors Association […] and warned that Trump would hurt the GOP’s prospects in the race for the White House and in down-ballot contests for House, Senate, and governor.” [2/25/16]

New York Times: Inside the Republican Party’s Desperate Mission to Stop Donald Trump

“The scenario Karl Rove outlined was bleak. Addressing a luncheon of Republican governors and donors in Washington on Feb. 19, he warned that Donald Trump’s increasingly likely nomination would be catastrophic, dooming the party in November.”  [2/27/16]

Associated Press: A Look at What GOP Governors, Senators Say about Trump

“The Associated Press asked Republican senators and governors across the country if they would back Trump if he secured the nomination. Just under half of those who responded would not commit to backing him, foreshadowing a potentially extraordinary break this fall.” [2/29/16]

Washington Post: The Trump Effect Ripples Down The Ballot

“It is growing increasingly difficult to deny the possibility that brash businessman Donald Trump has a shot at winning the GOP nomination for president and that may have some negative consequences for Republicans running for office down the ballot.” [2/22/16]

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson:

“Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged Republicans to remember that their White House pick also impacts ‘the Senate and whether we’re going to continue to elect Republican governors across the country.’” [2/29/16]

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant:

“I hope at some point this party and governors around the nation will intervene…. It’s not a blood sport and it’s not something that should hurt the party… We’ve got to be very careful who our nominee’s going to be.” [2/22/16]

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley:

“Donald Trump is everything we teach our kids not to do in kindergarten. We have seen behavior over and over again that is just unacceptable” [2/29/16]

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley:

“Here is a man who has, with his rhetoric, disregard and disrespect for women, for minorities, for people who have disabilities,” Bentley said, adding Trump “would make fun of people who possibly had cerebral palsy or other problems.” [2/29/16]

RGA Finance Chair Fred Malek:

The catfight going on in the Republican Party right now is just an embarrassment. This is schoolyard stuff. It’s disgusting and juvenile.” [2/29/16]

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard:       

“One thing I do want in our Republican nominee is someone who can win, and I worry that someone who is too polarizing or too appealing to one extreme or another will not in the end be able to win.” [2/22/16]

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker:

“Gov. Baker admitted to ‘a lot of nervousness’ about Trump’s impact on this year’s gubernatorial races.” [2/29/16]

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