“It was never even up for discussion,” echoed Iowa GOP National Committeeman Steve Scheffler in a separate interview. “We’re not going to shut the door on anyone and say, ‘You’re not welcome.'”
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Still, Trump allies on the ground in South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and Kansas moved in recent days to cancel their 2020 primary contests altogether to eliminate the possibility of trouble.
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States have until October to submit their delegate selection rules to the Republican National Committee, and several more state Republican parties could vote to cancel their nominating contests before the deadline.
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“This was a shady backroom deal where a small group of party insiders made a big decision that stops hundreds of thousands of voters from participating in the process,” said South Carolina Republican operative Rob Godfrey, who previously worked for the state GOP and former Gov. Nikki Haley.
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“What’s the RNC and the Trump campaign afraid of?” asked Felkel, who worked for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential bid. “This to me, no matter how they spin it, suggests there’s weakness they don’t want to reveal.”
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Fergus Cullen, a former state GOP chairman, said the push to cancel primaries represent the “drip drip drip of autocratic tendencies in the Trump administration.”
“This is the kind of thing that happens in autocratic nations led by dictators,” Cullen said. “One way to ensure that the president of Russia gets 98% of the vote is you don’t allow anyone else on the ballot.”
The Trump campaign has essentially ignored the prospect of a serious primary challenge when asked. The incumbent president is not expected to accept invitations for traditional primary activities, such as debates.
Navy Vet
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