In an interview with CNN’s David Axelrod, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said that a brokered convention would not be fair to Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
A brokered convention could happen if Trump fails to reach the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination on the first ballot of delegate voting. Delegates are not bound to vote according to their states’ preference after the first ballot and could conceivably switch their vote to a candidate other than Trump.
“If he got two thirds of what he needs, which I think he’s well on his way to doing — for us to steal from him is not going to help the party,” Graham told Axelrod’s “Axe Files” podcast. “You can lose an election. We’ve lost an election before, but what I’m trying to do is focus on the day after we lose. He would leave — and he’d have a right to leave.”
“Can we rebuild this party? Can we create a form of conservatism that’s enticing to young people and people of color? I think we can, and I think that’s the only hope for the Republican Party and, quite frankly, one of the big hopes of this country,” the senator said.
Graham further cautioned that the Trump campaign’s use of “xenophobia, race-baiting, and a tinge of religious bigotry” is putting the Republican party in a dangerous situation.
“He’s trying to hedge his bets,” he told Axelrod. “I don’t think he supports the KKK. I don’t think he’s a racist. But he’s playing a political game.”
“In the end it’ll be the demise of Donald Trump and the Republican Party if we don’t watch it.”
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