Some prominent Utah Republicans may avoid the national convention in Cleveland this summer because they don’t want to be associated with Donald Trump. Might that decision hurt their political futures?
Our “Political Insiders” say Trump’s coronation as the GOP nominee won’t have much of an effect on the political fortunes of Utah Republicans, so avoiding the convention won’t end up hurting them.
52% of the Republicans on our panel, 43% of the Democrats and 48% of our readers say it will make no difference if Republicans skip the convention next month.
Some top Utah Republicans who have been selected as delegates to the convention, including Lt. Governor Spencer Cox, have not yet decided whether they will travel to Cleveland. The same goes for Rep. Mia Love. Love burst on the national stage during the 2012 convention in Tampa when she was given a speaking slot.
Selected anonymous comments:
“Why would you want to miss such a spectacle? The hand-wringing (of the mainstream), the pathos (of the losers), the acrimony (of the Tea-Party), the media frenzy (trying to get someone to run-down the prospective nominee), the head scratching (about his running-mate), the jibs and jabs (from the Dems), the gloating (from the nominee), the cringing (from foreign leaders), the threats (from North Korea), the volatility (of the stock market), the copyright infringement (of campaign music), the pageantry, the thrills, the spills, the mindless news coverage, accusations galore…miss that…are you crazy?”
“They are idiots if they don’t go. Why run if you’re not willing or able to follow your obligations. I would go in a second.”
“It is a shame that the Ted Cruz camp spent so much time and money making sure only Ted Cruz delegates got elected and robbed everyone else of the chance to partake. Now those sour grapes are going to taste a whole lot worse for the next eight years. No one will notice an absence of anyone especially since Trump will be reshaping the party and Paul Manafort will put together an amazing convention.”
“Utah needs to take part to make our voice heard. That is especially important when we have a dissenting view.”
“Elected delegates have a moral obligation to at least show up, even if they decide to vote for someone besides Trump. Be honorable ?!?!? Oops…can that really happen in Utah?”
“If it were me, I would stay away.”
“I think at the end of the day; Utah voters will care more about the substantive work of their elected officials than whether they attended the national convention. I also think there’s something to be said for party loyalty, especially for those who have been elected as national delegates.”
“It’s time to support the millions of Republicans who nominated Trump. Those who protest Trump are arrogantly saying they know what’s best for everyone else. They are those that are alienating the millions of voters who’ve been staying home causing the GOP to be unable to win a national election.”
“No one pays attention to who goes or does not go.”
“When a plane is hijacked you don’t help the hijacker. When a party is hijacked, same dif.”
“Even if Utahns don’t want Trump, people expect their politicians to be engaged. Staying away just looks like cowardice.”
“It should hurt them but it won’t with the holier than thou crowd.”
“Matheson did not attend the Democratic Conventions and it only helped him. Attending the GOP Convention is an expression of approval for Trump. Non-attendance will bolster any true Republican.”
“If for nothing else, Utah Republicans should attend the convention to do some soul-searching. Were the years of attacking President Obama via questions over his citizenship and loyalty to our nation instead of focusing on his policies really worth the result of Trump as the Republican Party standard-bearer?”
“We need them there wearing their No Trump shirts. We need them voting for Cruz, who won in Utah. We need them protecting the party platform. We need them, so the world knows there are people not for Trump.”
“It’s high time the Utah Republicans grew up. All this in-fighting is going to hand the White House to Hillary unless we can get the Tea Partiers to pull their heads out and join the real world.”
“Trump was put on the spot on stage to support whoever was nominated. But evidently that doesn’t work the other way around. If it was required of Trump to support others where is the support from his party now that he is the one picked? Not fair.”
“Distancing yourself from Trump will prove to be a good move. When he crashes, it will be HUUUGE!”
“Donald Trump is not morally, emotionally or intellectually qualified to be President. I will not vote for any Republican who does not disavow Trump.”
“If a couple of people skip the convention from a state that has not gone blue since LBJ I doubt anyone will notice. Trump will still carry the state by 20+ points on a bad day.”
“They need to grow up. Politics and making sausage are messy.”
