A group of establishment Republicans unhappy with the rise of Donald Trump — and the lackluster performances from his challengers for the GOP nomination — have banded together in an effort to get House Speaker Paul Ryan to run for president.
An email from a group called the Committee to Draft Speaker Ryan sent out a mass email Monday calling on GOP voters to sign a petition that would draft the Wisconsin Republican to run in 2016 as an alternative to Trump who could also help avoid a brokered convention.
"The presidential race has descended into little more than a schoolyard scuffle with poll after poll showing Donald Trump losing to Hillary Clinton in the general election,” Earle Mack, the group’s honorary chairman, wrote in the email.
“After eight years of Barack Obama and with the Supreme Court in the balance, our country faces a pivotal election. Going into what will likely be an open convention, the GOP, and America, needs a better choice,” Mack, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Finland for two years during the George W. Bush administration, added. “Speaker Ryan has always answered the call of duty, stepping up to serve when no one else could, and we hope he will do so again.”
Mack formed the group last week and has reportedly already spent $1 million of his own money to fund it.
“With no candidate likely to reach the required 1,237 delegates to secure the nomination on the first ballot, it is vital that the GOP be offer an alternative candidate that is respected by conservatives nationwide,” Rob Cole, a senior advisor with the group, said in a separate statement.
“That candidate is Speaker Paul Ryan, who has been tested at a national level and as Speaker, and has passed both with flying colors. Speaker Ryan embodies conservative intellectualism, and will need no on-the-job training, either as candidate or President,” wrote Cole, who had been the top adviser to former New York Gov. George Pataki’s presidential bid, which was folded in December.
The mass email included a link to a site that includes a link to the petition, for which the group is hoping get 1 million signatures.
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“Speaker Ryan has repeatedly announced publicly that he is not running for President in 2016. It is the Speaker's sincere hope that donors and supporters are not confused by, or misled into supporting, this organization,” letter continued.
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Further worrying Republicans is the possibility of a brokered convention, which could happen if Trump fails to secure 1,237 GOP delegates. While Trump currently has secured the most delegates of any candidate, his path to 1,237 remains tenuous.
If that were to occur, the delegates Trump had secured would become unbound and could support any Republican candidate of their choosing, even lawmakers who hadn’t declared themselves candidates.
Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2012 who has long been a favorite by conservatives within the GOP, has been frequently mentioned was one such possible option.
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