Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney called on GOP donors Monday to consolidate support behind an alternative presidential candidate to former President Donald Trump in 2024.
Romney, a former Republican nominee for president, warned that the large GOP primary field could allow Trump to win the nomination by plurality as he did in 2016 in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. The former Massachusetts governor believes another candidate can emerge to make the primary a “two-man race,” but only if Republican donors encourage those not gaining momentum to walk away.
“Republican megadonors and influencers — large and small — are going to have to do something they didn’t do in 2016: get candidates they support to agree to withdraw if and when their paths to the nomination are effectively closed,” Romney wrote. “That decision day should be no later than, say, Feb. 26, the Monday following the contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.”
Romney argued that GOP primary candidates used to narrow the field for a “greater purpose” once they realized they didn’t have a chance, but that is no longer the case due to super PACs and megadonors. The senator wrote that candidates won’t listen to party leaders, advisers or staff in their bids to get them to withdraw, but contenders would concede with the influence of their donors.
“Our party and our country need a nominee with character, driven by something greater than revenge and ego, preferably from the next generation,” Romney wrote. “Family, friends and campaign donors are the only people who can get a lost-cause candidate to exit the race.”
The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between July 5 and July 20, indicates that Trump is leading the crowded field by over 30 points with 51.8%, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 18.5%, former Vice President Mike Pence with 5.6% and conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy with 5.5%.
Trump did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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