# In the event of a contested convention, who do you think will be the Republican nominee for POTUS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 5, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256 "2016-04-05T14:58:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/21 "2016-04-05T18:49:04Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Damn, President Obama is rueing the Amendment that doesn’t allow for a third term; he could beat this bunch (Dem and Rep) with taking a deep breath. Although I agree Obama would wipe the floor with any of this cycle’s crop of candidates, including Hillary, I think he’s had it with the job and would not run again even if he could. Regardless who ends up becoming president, I believe we will all look back nostalgically and sadly to Obama’s presidency and marvel at his steady hand at the helm, and wonder what he could have achieved for the country with just a modicum of cooperation from the other party. This is not to say Obama did everything right, far from it, but his pragmatic approach, although infuriating at times, did help to steer the country, generally, into calmer waters. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/22 "2016-04-05T19:01:33Z")
Trump won’t mind or object if he gets the VP slot. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/23 "2016-04-05T19:06:54Z")
There’s no way that Trump is getting offered a VP slot by the GOP nominee. The establishment would not want that, and the only one crazy enough to do it anyway also hates him. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/24 "2016-04-05T19:39:13Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Trump won’t mind or object if he gets the VP slot. Man, I disagree with you. Trump’s an egomaniac. His entire goal is “NOTICE ME!!!”. The Veep, even ones as stupid and inarticulate as Quayle and Biden barely get any notice even when they drooled out their crazy-assed gibberish. He might take Press Secretary or something that gives him a constant camera on him. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/25 "2016-04-05T19:57:26Z")
Biden as stupid or inarticulate? Where did that come from? I think it’s probably going to be Cruz. From what I’ve heard, he’s the only one who actually grasps how the process works, and has been working behind the scenes to woo delegates. Many of the delegates who are pledged to Trump actually prefer Cruz, and so if Trump can’t make it in on the first ballot, a lot of those guys are going to flip. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/26 "2016-04-05T20:03:48Z")
And being VP gives him the opportunity to exercise that egomania without any of the responsibility. He can meet and greet all the important people and file their details away for making deals when he stands down in 4 years’ time. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/27 "2016-04-05T20:06:49Z")
I think it would be Cruz. Oh, sure, they’d love to nominate Kasich, but the optics would be pretty bad. The guy only won his home state and really got drubbed in most other states. If Cruz can make it close there’s a good argument for him. Plus some establishment Republicans have already endorsed Cruz and they can’t very well backtrack. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/28 "2016-04-05T20:31:55Z")
The GOP can’t afford to alienate both Trump’s and Cruz’ supporters. They’re welcome to try, but I think they’d see how dangerous that would be. So either Trump or Cruz will be the nominee. A lot depends on how close Trump is to 1237, and how big the gap is between his and Cruz’ delegate totals. If Trump has \>1150 delegates and Cruz has only ~700, the party insiders will face a tough choice between pushing Trump over the line to avoid a civil war, or letting Cruz win on a second or third ballot and hoping the war fizzles out. I’m thinking that if Trump doesn’t show up at Cleveland with 1237 votes in hand, it’ll be Cruz. ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/29 "2016-04-05T21:37:56Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Trump won’t mind or object if he gets the VP slot. Unless something really astounding occurs in the next two months, Trump is going to enter the convention with the most delegates and several million more popular votes than his closest competitor. I am the farthest thing in the world from a Trump fan, but under those circumstances I don’t see why he would be happy to accept a VP nomination or even really why he should consider it. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/30 "2016-04-05T21:43:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Biden as stupid or inarticulate? Where did that come from? Outside of the plagiarism, there’s his hundreds of moronic gaffes. Here’s one “Top Ten” list from Time Magazine. [http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1895156,00.html](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1895156,00.html) Here’s another from Politico. [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/02/joe-biden-bidenisms-103689](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/02/joe-biden-bidenisms-103689) One of my personal favorites is the Biden classic > [@](#): > > ``` > Well, the way in which we measure it is—I think most scholars would say—is that as long as you have a weapon sufficient to be able to provide your self-defense. I did one of these town-hall meetings on the Internet and one guy said, “Well, what happens when the end days come? What happens when there’s the earthquake? I live in California, and I have to protect myself.” > > I said, “Well, you know, my shotgun will do better for you than your AR-15, because you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door.” Most people can handle a shotgun a hell of a lot better than they can a semi-automatic weapon in terms of both their aim and in terms of their ability to deter people coming. We can argue whether that’s true or not, but it is no argument that, for example, a shotgun could do the same job of protecting you. Now, granted, you can come back and say, “Well, a machine gun could do a better job of protecting me.” No one’s arguing we should make machine guns legal. > > ``` but that doesn’t top his crazy-assed racist shit: "[Obama is] the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” or (close paraphrase) regarding India type Indians: “You can’t even go into a 7-11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts without hearing their accent” or claiming Delaware was a slave state. The guy is an imbecilic crackpot. Quayle may have been tongue-tied and none-too-bright, but Biden is a dribbling racist loon. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/31 "2016-04-05T21:54:36Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Quayle may have been tongue-tied and none-too-bright, but Biden is a dribbling racist loon. Biden played basketball? Cool! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/32 "2016-04-05T21:57:21Z")
[Delaware was most certainly a slave state](http://slavenorth.com/delaware.htm), right up through and several months after the War. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/33 "2016-04-05T23:36:15Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > [Delaware was most certainly a slave state](http://slavenorth.com/delaware.htm), right up through and several months after the War. Yup. I screwed that one up. What he was saying was that since his state was a slave state, he’ll do just fine in the deep South. The Daily Kos readers were none-too-fond of the pandering though. > **[Biden brags about Delaware's Slave Past](https://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/28/240753/-)** > > Daily Kos is a progressive news site that fights for democracy by giving our audience information and resources to win elections and impact government. Our coverage is assiduously factual, ethical, and unapologetically liberal. We amplify what we... ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/34 "2016-04-05T23:39:59Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Trump won’t mind or object if he gets the VP slot. Heh Trump as VP would be a shitshow for whoever was the Presidential candidate. They’d never be able to rein him in. Not happening. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/35 "2016-04-05T23:41:49Z")
Biden? Football. And some baseball. When he wasn’t participating in anti-segregation sit-ins. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/36 "2016-04-06T01:21:42Z")
One vote for Romney. I see **elucidator** has been by. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/37 "2016-04-06T07:14:29Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > One vote for Romney. > > I see **elucidator** has been by. > > 😃 Actually, that was me. I believe that if it comes to a brokered convention, the GOP smoke-filled rooms will go with what they see as the safest, most familiar compromise possible, and that’s Romney. That kid Ryan will get his turn when he’s old enough. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/38 "2016-04-06T08:05:56Z")
If the Republicans are nervous about losing to the Dems in November with Trump as their candidate, how nervous would they be about losing to the Dems in November with Trump running as an independent? Let’s say Trump rolls up to a contested convention (assuming he arrives with comfortably more delegates than Cruz or Kasich), and he says, “look, either give me the nomination, or I’m running as an independent, taking swathes of Republican voters with me. Good luck beating the Dems in November if that happens”. What then? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/39 "2016-04-06T11:27:43Z")
**Fenris** , those statement aren’t stupid, inarticulate, or gaffes. Biden’s gaffes are legendary, in the same sense that Bigfoot is. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256/40 "2016-04-06T11:38:06Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > The reason I think it might be Kasich is because of the one on one polls against Clinton. Kasich does better against her than either Trump or Cruz. The party would revolt if Kasich got in. Polls schmolls…he hasn’t won a damn thing - and I say that as someone who basically likes Kasich and respects the way he’s run his campaign. At the end of the day, though, you have millions of voters and campaign volunteers who’ve poured their heart and soul into this election and two of the guys going to the campaign will have crushed Kasich by that point. Kasich exists to deny Trump the nomination. That’s it. That’s he’s _rason d’etre_ at this point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-event-of-a-contested-convention-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-republican-nominee-for-potus/751256.md?page=3)