Republicans sketch out path for new candidate

[ajb]

New Jersey, California and Texas won't vote until June. A late entrant could sweep those three states and win a sizable enough portion of delegates to force a contested convention.

Of course, what if a late entrant didn't catch fire? Then they'd be even worse off than before.

[ajb]

The absolute worst case for the Republicans is if a late entrant runs, and he turns out to be another Rick Perry and collapses.  That would be a embarrasment to the establishment, reinforce the perception that nobody likes any of the Republican candidates, and also increase the odds of a borkered convention.

This. Remember when Perry got in (himself a late entrant), and everyone talked about what a skilful politician and great debater he was?

Running for president is completely different from running for governor, even in a big state like Texas or Florida, and these days it's pretty easy to crash and burn in a matter of days if you're not ready for it.