Republican party officials are reportedly hoping to nudge presidential front-runner Donald Trump toward party policy goals — and away from fiery rhetoric — by dangling access to crucial tools he'll need for a general election race.
Citing two unnamed sources,
Politico reports Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has started saying in private meetings the party has a trump card — voter data and field, digital and media operations typically inherited by a nominee.
"It's a relationship," the RNC's chief strategist and communications director Sean Spicer tells Politico.
"Every nominee — it doesn't matter this cycle or last cycle — understands now that the role of parties is critical in terms of the manpower, the data, the press operation, the research. The bottom line is no nominee can win without the party."
Not everyone thinks the strategy will work.
"Does anybody have leverage over Donald Trump? Nope," a former RNC official tells Politico. "His own staff doesn't. No one can control him."
Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges, who is supporting Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the GOP primary race, said the RNC should've made its move months ago.
"If we were gonna put a stop to the Trump phenomenon, we should have done it last summer," Borges tells Politico. "We should have spoken out as a party. I met with him one-on-one in Columbus so I could tell him, 'This isn't going to help you win here. It's just not.'"
Borges insists Trump "won't win a general election. So what would the point in that time be if he was our nominee to say, 'Hey, cool it?'"
Politico points out the RNC generally plays a critical role for a nominee in the general election, not only with data and manpower, but millions in supporting them — and anyone without those resources would be hampered against a Democratic opponent with organization and finances like Hillary Clinton.
Politico notes Trump already has signed a list-sharing agreement with the RNC, and Spicer believes once there's a nominee, there's just one goal: winning the White House.
"You just can't start it off — especially with a guy like Trump — if you went in hot, I don't think that would be a smart move," Spicer said.
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