As more mainstream, establishment candidates continue to undermine each others' success through attack ads, the GOP leadership is growing increasingly concerned that the nomination will go to Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz, both known for their anti-establishment rhetoric and controversial policy proposals.
GOP leaders fear that the infighting among more moderate Republican candidates will hurt their chances in the primary nomination process, and discredit their candidacies.
According to Steven Law, president of American Crossroads, a Republican political action committee, "There's a mounting sense of urgency among donors that the weak performers need to go ahead and get out."
Law is presumably referring to candidates like Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, and perhaps even Chris Christie, whose presence in the race distracts from mainstream favorites like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio.
According to the New York Times, establishment candidates such as Rubio, Bush, Christie, and Kasich, has spent approximately $35million on attack ads attempting to discredit their opponents.
"These guys are so busy fighting one another that they're only continuing to facilitate the rise of Trump and Cruz," opined Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma.
Republicans feel that now is the time to rally behind one mainstream, establishment candidate to avoid an increase of the massive expenditure, and possible reputation destruction of a prolonged primary race.
As Henry Barbour, an influential Republican strategist based in Mississippi, explained, "Whoever is not named Trump and not named Cruz that looks strong out of both Iowa and New Hampshire, we should consolidate around."
However, it may be too late, given Trump's most recent poll numbers and Cruz's surge among evangelical voters. While the prevailing political knowledge suggest that those who come out and vote for presidential primaries largely do not represent the views of the general public, and a more moderate candidate will emerge as the election draws nearer still pervades punditry and political analyses, this election season has proved to be a complete anomaly that has everyone guessing what could happen.
