… Republicans are apparently so angry, so dissatisfied with “politics as usual,” that they may make a very unusual decision: nominating a candidate who both lacks government experience and the measured responses that we have come to expect from our elected officials, or nominating someone who is so confrontational that he already insists he won’t compromise with political opponents.
Either choice would make 2016 an echo of 1964, when insurgent Barry Goldwater won the Republican nomination, defeating establishment alternatives Pennsylvania Gov. Bill Scranton and New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. …
February’s four contests will allocate 121 pledged delegates, while there are almost 600 pledged delegates at stake in the March 1st contests, according to the Republican National Committee’s website. The key question is how those early delegates divide and how many candidates survive into March, which has a total of 25 contests. CONT.
Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call