Several Republican Senators are saying that Donald Trump's loss in Wisconsin this week means he won't likely get the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the GOP presidential nomination this summer, and indicating there is hope for those who fear losses for the party in November should he become the nominee.
"It become difficult, more difficult" for Trump to win in the first ballot, Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines commented to
The Hill, and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said that he believes the convention will be contested, and "that's good for the Republican Party."
Flake and Danes both endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race in March, and another former Rubio endorser, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said he does not believe Trump will be the nominee.
The three have not endorsed anyone else, but there are many in Washington who say they're considering Trump's main rival, Ted Cruz, a more-appealing choice than the New York real estate mogul and reality TV star.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has called for Trump, who he says is "a disaster," to lose and thinks Cruz is the best option to keep Trump from becoming the party's nominee.
Other senators, though, aren't speaking publicly about Trump but admit they are uneasy about him winning.
"He's suffered a setback in Wisconsin," one lawmaker told The Hill anonymously, adding that he and others are concerned about Trump as "nobody knows who he listens to." But even with the Wisconsin loss, it's premature to count Trump out, he said.
Others said they fear a Trump win, as they do not think he can unify the party.
"That's an oxymoron, Donald Trump and unifying the Republican Party," another senator who requested anonymity told The Hill.
"Donald Trump is not the Republican Party I've known for half a century."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.