Rattling the establishment: Win for Trump sends Republican Party into panic

Politics

Rattling the establishment: Win for Trump sends Republican Party into panic

As the Republican primary contest continues, New Hampshire may come to be known as the place where the establishment’s chances of nominating one of its own came to die. Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman and unlikely presidential candidate, claimed his first win in the race for the GOP nomination, easily winning the New Hampshire primary Tuesday night. Real Americans casting real ballots in a real primary contest made it obvious that they would rather have the Manhattan mogul as their nominee than any of the other Republicans in the race.

Another thing that became clear Tuesday night was that a viable mainstream challenger to Trump and the insurgent Iowa caucus winner, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — that long-awaited white knight who could “consolidate establishment support” and save the party from self-immolation in fall — has not emerged yet and may not emerge for some time. Those Republican leaders who fear that Trump is unelectable in a general election — and there are many — publicly suggest they have until mid-March to coalesce behind a viable alternative.