CHARLESTON, S.C.– The Republican National Committee has started preparing for a contested national convention, which would follow the primary season should no GOP candidate for president win enough delegates to secure the party’s nomination.
While calling the need for such plans ultimately unlikely, several GOP leaders at the party’s winter meeting in South Carolina said Wednesday that such preliminary planning is nonetheless actively underway.
They stressed it had little to do with concerns about the candidacy of billionaire businessman Donald Trump, describing the early work instead as a necessary contingency given the deeply divided Republican field. With less than three weeks to go before the Feb. 1 leadoff Iowa caucuses, there are still a dozen major Republican candidates in the race.
The RNC will hold a briefing outlining possible scenarios with party officials and the presidential campaigns today.
