Republicans discussed possibility of brokered convention

By Dana Bash, Kevin Bohn and Theodore Schleifer, CNN

Updated 5:46 PM ET, Thu December 10, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

Story highlights

• Top Republican party officials are about to actively prepare for a brokered convention
• "No one is quite sure what will happen," said one participant at the meeting

Washington (CNN)Top Republican Party officials have discussed the possibility of a brokered convention, sources told CNN Thursday, a new recognition that the GOP nominating contest could be protracted well into the summer.

At a monthly dinner meeting this week, Republican Party brass decided it would be prudent to plan for a contested convention, which would be triggered if no candidate has enough delegates to win the nomination.

Five sources insisted that while the topic came up during the dinner, it did not dominate the discussion.

Republican strategists have long theorized about the possibility of the brokered convention, which hasn't happened in decades, but the dinner meeting appears to be the first active planning taken by the GOP to prepare for it.

The plans, first reported by The Washington Post, come as 14 Republicans plan to duke it out in the Iowa caucuses, a historically large field that has winnowed slowly. Republicans are worried that -- given that many delegates are awarded proportionally -- there is a possibility that a brokered convention could happen.

"No one is quite sure what will happen," one of the sources said about the meeting, which was attended by about 20 party leaders, including Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Despite persistent worries from Donald Trump's campaign that Republican party officials may try to elbow him out of the nominating contest, the source said Trump, who has sat atop GOP polls for five months, was not the focus of the planning.

It had "nothing, zero, nada to do with Trump except he may be one of the candidates standing at the end," said the source. "It was not aimed at anyone."

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Republicans discussed possibility of brokered convention

CNN

- ‎36 minutes ago‎

Washington (CNN) Top Republican Party officials have discussed the possibility of a brokered convention, sources told CNN Thursday, a new recognition that the GOP nominating contest could be protracted well into the summer.