DBWI: Trump's campaign does not collapse

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

Remember, he was once leading in the polls. But after a humiliating 4th place behind Paul, Rubio and Cruz, his campaign was destroyed. He dropped out after Nevada, after being hit to 5th place. What if his campaign had succeeded?

[OSR stands with Israel]

Instead of preparing for Marco Rubio getting inaugurated in one week , we likely would be preparing for the inauguration of Hillary Clinton

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

Instead of preparing for Marco Rubio getting inaugurated in one week , we likely would be preparing for the inauguration of Hillary Clinton

*shudders*

But in all seriousness, A poll conducted last year in January shows that 20% of Democrats would had flocked to Trump. Besides, that October surprise really could had helped any Republican.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

In case any of you guys forgot about the Republican primaries:

Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
John Kasich (R-OH)
Rand Paul (R-KY)

In order of contests won.

Rubio faced a rocky road, but soon got a hang of it and became the nominee.

The 2016 election:

Rubio/Gingrich: 281 Electoral votes, 51.9%
Clinton/Hickenlooper: 257 Electoral votes, 47.6%

[LLR]

Was the blue in the primaries Kasich or Christie? I just can't remember for some reason...

[Kingpoleon]

Kasich, duh.

Gingrich was a nice choice to satisfy former Kasich supporters, especially as he moderated this election even before Iowa voted. However, I really hope the rumors of his ill health aren't true. There's a report somewhat believable stating he may have to resign as early as 2019.

((OOC: Is there a way to speed these up??))

[Simfan34]

DBWI? Wrong website!

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

I also had heard that Christie was just 1% short of reaching the NH debate. Who would had he attacked?

[LLR]

Imagine if Haley and Scott had rallied behind Cruz! He would've won the nomination, then, no?

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

Imagine if Haley and Scott had rallied behind Cruz! He would've won the nomination, then, no?

Makes sense, If Cruz had won S. Carolina, then he gets +50 delegates. And if he had won Florida, Rubio would had dropped out.

[Mike Thick]

I also had heard that Christie was just 1% short of reaching the NH debate. Who would had he attacked?

If he had made it? Probably Cruz or Paul, over foreign policy.

Honestly, though, I really don't think there was a chance at all. Peter King's late entry ate way into his already small base, especially in New Hampshire.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

I also had heard that Christie was just 1% short of reaching the NH debate. Who would had he attacked?

If he had made it? Probably Cruz or Paul, over foreign policy.

Honestly, though, I really don't think there was a chance at all. Peter King's late entry ate way into his already small base, especially in New Hampshire.

I agree, Christie and Paul always had feuds during the debates. Speaking of Debate Feuds, King DESTROYED Cruz. If it weren't for King, we would have been seeing a contested convention, after all, Rubio just got 1,288 delegates, just 51 more than he needed.

[Mike Thick]

I also had heard that Christie was just 1% short of reaching the NH debate. Who would had he attacked?

If he had made it? Probably Cruz or Paul, over foreign policy.

Honestly, though, I really don't think there was a chance at all. Peter King's late entry ate way into his already small base, especially in New Hampshire.

I agree, Christie and Paul always had feuds during the debates. Speaking of Debate Feuds, King DESTROYED Cruz. If it weren't for King, we would have been seeing a contested convention, after all, Rubio just got 1,288 delegates, just 51 more than he needed.

Eh, Cruz was just a weak candidate. I'm kind of surprised he got as far as he did. People in today's Republican party just don't seem to be as interested in far-right politics as they were, say, six years ago.

I'd also argue that the ISIS debacle would have kept Cruz from doing as well as he needed to in states like Oregon, New Mexico, and even Indiana delegate-wise. The NYSE attack really put a spotlight on his and Paul's positions on government surveillance and foreign intervention. Remember, Cruz had decent-sized leads in the March 26th states and a MASSIVE lead in Indiana, but Rubio ended up getting three of those five primaries and holding Cruz to a low-single-digit win. Paul was also doing pretty well, and stood to pick up a few delegates in the proportional states, but it's a miracle he even managed to win Montana.

[Kingpoleon]

Yeah, Secretary of Defense Peter King may be pretty meh on foreign policy, but at least unlike most politicians he knows what he's talking about on it. I can think of a lot worse people to be in charge of the military.

I've heard rumors King is trying to draft Representative Jason Villalba or another Mainstreet Republican to run against Cruz. Has anyone seen anything about primary polling for Texas?

[Mike Thick]

Yeah, Secretary of Defense Peter King may be pretty meh on foreign policy, but at least unlike most politicians he knows what he's talking about on it. I can think of a lot worse people to be in charge of the military.

I've heard rumors King is trying to draft Representative Jason Villalba or another Mainstreet Republican to run against Cruz. Has anyone seen anything about primary polling for Texas?

Emerson:

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It's no surprise that his numbers are so low: he's insanely unpopular. Perot seems to have most of Trump's 2016 primary voters. He's done a good job of getting his name out ahead of his run, but I don't really see a lot of people that would back a more "establishment" figure getting behind him. McCaul has pretty low name recognition and room to grow -- and he can self-fund a ton. Dude's loaded. However, he should be a little concerned. Villalba, unsurprisingly, scores worst. He's pretty unknown outside of his House district. However, if King hits the trail for him, I could se it happening.

[Kingpoleon]

Is that pre or post-Villalba's election as U. S. Representative for District 3 when Samuel Johnson retired after a heart attack? If you'll remember, he won with the help of State Rep. Scott Turner, Fmr. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, George P. Bush, and the like against Tea Partier Dan Morenoff.

For the first election cycle in quite a while, we finally have quite a few moderates looking to primary the Tea Partiers and Social Democrats. I found some primary polling for Richard Durbin, if he doesn't retire:

Quinnipiac:

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Overall, my preference is Kinzinger>Harris>Munger/Lahood(whichever runs)>Durbin>Zopp>Andrzejewski. None of the first four are bad. IMO, Durbin's the best Majority Leader since Bill Frist, and Howard Baker before that.

[Figueira]

Why not ask what would have happened if Herman Cain's campaign did not collapse?

[Mike Thick]

Post. I'm surprised that King would seek out Villalba, who's a virtual unknown statewide, over someone he's been known to be friends with like McCaul, who can self-fund. I see Villalba as someone who's more likely to run for Governor in 2022 or even Senate to replace Cornyn in 2020. He doesn't strike me as the type to take on an incumbent. In the end, though, I doubt both of them would run, though. We'd end up with a Perot-Cruz runoff, which the establishmentarians would hate.

Harris is a different story. He's very, very ambitious. I can see him running for President in 2024 or 2028 if he knocks out Durbin. It's shocking that Durbin's polling so low, but I don't know why -- progressives loathe the guy.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

King should really back off of Texas. He has already destroyed Cruz enough in the 2 debates he was in, and the attack ads were brutal. And now funding a primary challenge? In any case, Perot seems to have a good chance. Capturing the Trump Supporters could help him. Villalba also has a good chance with the Hispanics. Also, have you heard the news that a Clinton 2020 movement is starting? Do you think she will accept it?

[Kingpoleon]

No, I think Hillary knows she's been beaten.

As for Napoleon Harris doing best against Durbin, I'm just glad that he and Durbin will hold onto the reformist IL Democrats rather than their Cook County Corruptocrats. It's really hard for me to believe Emanuel got the DNC Chair position, still. I wonder if he plans on backing Zopp or getting someone else to run.


But yeah, Perot would be a pretty decent Senator. He is pro-choice and pro-SSM, like Villalba, so I suspect those two intend on joining forces. Villalba and Perot already are building campaign infrastructure, and Rubio won't object to Cruz being taken out.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

Ross Perot has said that if his son wins, he will become a Republican.