Republicans abandon primaries and caucuses as Trump challengers scream scandal

Four states are on the verge of canceling their primaries and caucuses for the 2020 GOP President, a decision that would cut the oxygen of Donald Trump's primary challengers.

The Republican parties in South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and Kansas are expected to finalize cancellations at this weekend's meetings, according to three GOP officials familiar with the projects.

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These moves are the latest illustration of Trump's takeover of the entire Republican Party apparatus. They point out how his allies are determined to remove any potential nuisance along the way to re-elect him, or even to deny Republican critics a platform to embarrass him.

Trump advisers quickly point out that the parties of a sitting president who is seeking re-election have a long tradition of canceling the primaries and note that it will save the states parties money. But the main opponents of the president, who have struggled to gain ground, cry scandal, calling it part of a larger effort to rig the fight for Trump.

"Trump and his allies and the Republican National Committee are doing everything they can to eliminate the primaries in some states and prevent the main candidates from accessing the vote in several states," said the former Representative, Joe Walsh -Ill.), who recently launched his first campaign against the president. "This is not correct, the RNC should be ashamed of itself, and I think it shows that Trump is afraid of a major challenge because he knows his support is very weak."

"Primary elections are important, party competition is good and we intend to vote in all states, no matter what the RNC and Trump allies are trying to do," he added. Walsh. "We also intend to regularly call this undemocratic bull out loud."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said in a statement, "We do not elect the presidents by acclamation in America. Donald Trump does his best to make the Republican Party his personal club. Republicans deserve better. "

The cancellations come in part from months of maneuvering behind the scenes of the Trump campaign. The auxiliaries worked to ensure total control of the party's mechanisms, installing loyal loyalists in parties and eliminating potential detractors. Trump officials have long said that the goal is to smooth the way for the president's reappointment and ensure he does not face the kind of internal opposition that has plagued former President George HW Bush in his failed reelection campaign of 1992.

Trump's assistants stated that they supported the cancellations but pointed out that each case had been initiated by representatives of the State Party.

The stops are not without precedent. Some of the states that gave up the Republican nomination race did so when re-elected previous presidents. GOP officials recalled that in Arizona, there was no Democratic presidential primary in 2012, while Barack Obama was seeking a second term, or in 1996, when Bill Clinton ran for re-election. . Kansas did not have a Democratic primary in 1996, and Republican state representatives emphasized that they had long ago chosen to drop the primaries when re-electing an incumbent..

South Carolina GOP President Drew McKissick pointed out that his state had decided not to hold Republican presidential primaries in 1984, when Ronald Reagan ran for president, or in 2004, when George W. Bush became president. presented for a second term. South Carolina, he added, also skipped his Democratic contests of 1996 and 2012.

"Generally, when either party has a president in office at the White House, there is no reason to hold a primary," McKissick said.

Perhaps the closest comparison today is in 1992 when George H. W. Bush faced a major challenge from conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. Several states that year have effectively abandoned their Republican struggles, including Iowa, which has long won the first votes of the presidential nomination battles.

Buchanan said in an interview that the cancellations had overall played a minor role in his eventual defeat, adding that Bush had obtained a new "fair and equitable" nomination.

But Buchanan said he was moved by what he described as a concerted and ultimately successful effort by the GOP to prevent him from running for the South Dakota ballot. Buchanan said he was confident he could play in the conservative state, whose match was just days after a New Hampshire primary in which he surprisingly performed well.

Not being able to compete there crushed him, Buchanan said.

"If you think you can not fight against City Hall, try to overthrow the President of the United States," Buchanan said.

Officials from several states said, in statements provided by the Trump campaign, that they were motivated by the savings achieved. States parties in Nevada and Kansas pay the bill to set up caucuses.

"It would be a mistake on my part to waste money in a caucus to come to the inevitable conclusion that President Trump will recruit all of our delegates to Charlotte," said Michael McDonald, president of the Nevada GOP. "We should rather spend these funds to get all our candidates to the finish line."

Kansas GOP President Michael Kuckelman has estimated that holding the caucus would cost his party $ 250,000. According to him, the money could be used to win races.

Trump's associates have long said they do not worry about a major challenge and make fun of their Republican challengers. But the president's political team has reviewed the results of the previous primaries and is aware that unexpected events may occur – as in 2012, a federal inmate who garnered 41% of the vote against Obama at the Democratic West Virginia primary. .