Post by Logan on Jan 26, 2016 14:53:44 GMT -6
WASHINGTON - Republican anxiety is growing in Pennsylvania and corners of New Jersey over the possibility that Donald Trump or Ted Cruz will win the party's presidential nomination.
Tough races loom down the ballot in both states - most prominently Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's reelection bid in Pennsylvania - and establishment figures worry that the bombastic New York billionaire or the acerbic Texas senator could make the GOP toxic to critical swing voters in both states.
"Their presence at the top of the ticket would create serious problems," said former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a Republican. "One of the challenges I think the party needs to understand nationally - nationally - is that our candidate, our presidential candidate, can have a positive or negative impact on other races."
Ridge's worries were echoed in interviews in recent days with more than a dozen elected officials, insiders, and operatives in both parties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, who also offered their takes on the Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders contest for the Democratic nomination and a highly unpredictable presidential race.
Read more: www.philly.com/philly/news/20160126_Will_Trump_or_Cruz_sink_Toomey_re-election_bid_.html
Tough races loom down the ballot in both states - most prominently Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's reelection bid in Pennsylvania - and establishment figures worry that the bombastic New York billionaire or the acerbic Texas senator could make the GOP toxic to critical swing voters in both states.
"Their presence at the top of the ticket would create serious problems," said former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a Republican. "One of the challenges I think the party needs to understand nationally - nationally - is that our candidate, our presidential candidate, can have a positive or negative impact on other races."
Ridge's worries were echoed in interviews in recent days with more than a dozen elected officials, insiders, and operatives in both parties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, who also offered their takes on the Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders contest for the Democratic nomination and a highly unpredictable presidential race.
Read more: www.philly.com/philly/news/20160126_Will_Trump_or_Cruz_sink_Toomey_re-election_bid_.html