GOP sees options for stopping Trump — but not good ones

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders anxious over Donald Trump's dominance say they still have options for preventing the billionaire from winning the GOP nomination — just not many good ones.

Party elites are poring over complicated delegate math, outlining hazy scenarios for a contested convention and even flirting with the long-shot prospect of a third party option.

Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee four years ago, planned a sweeping takedown of Trump in a speech Thursday, but it was unclear what impact his words would have with voters deeply frustrated by their party's leaders.

While that could typically be a welcome sign for a party that has struggled to attract new voters in recent presidential elections, GOP leaders were privately grappling with the reality that some of those voters were in fact registering their opposition to the Republican establishment.

GOP strategists cast March 15 as the last opportunity to stop Trump through the normal path of winning states and collecting delegates.

The GOP mayhem contrasted sharply with a clearer picture on the Democratic side, where Hillary Clinton was drawing broad support from voters and her party's leaders.