Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:54 pm
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan slammed the door shut on any Republican hopes that a sane non-candidate might save the party, but Ryan left plenty of room for Scott Walker or Marco Rubio to swoop in and steal the nomination from Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Ryan said, “I do not want, nor will I accept the nomination for our party.” Speaker Ryan addressed the delegates for the Republican convention, “If no candidate has a majority in the first ballot, I believe that you should only choose from a person who has actually participated in the primary. Count me out. I simply believe that if you want to be the nominee for our party to be the president you should actually run for it. I chose not to do this. Therefore, I should not be considered. Period. End of story. I just think it would be wrong to go any other way, but let me say again, I am not going to be our party’s nominee.”
Speaker Ryan closed the door on any hopes within the Republican Party of getting a person who can at least try to sound sane to be their nominee. Ryan’s belief that the party should nominate someone who has “participated” in the primary left the door wide open for any of the candidates who have quit the Republican race to throw their names back into the ring at the convention.
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Look for Scott Walker and Marco Rubio to resurface as potential nominees if Republicans hold a brokered convention. Ryan didn’t specify that the nominee should come from one of the final three Republicans left standing, but one can imagine that there would be a complete party meltdown if the delegates decided to nominate Marco Rubio or Scott Walker over Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
The nightmare is never ending for the Republican Party. Ryan’s refusal to be the nominee provided a hint as to where the party establishment might be heading in their brokered convention. The establishment has always wanted Rubio on the ticket, and they could their way if Trump doesn’t clinch the nomination before Cleveland.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
