Trump as GOP nominee: It just got real for Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — The possibility of Donald Trump as Republican nominee — and perhaps president — is suddenly very real for the GOP in Congress.
After months of denial that the billionaire businessman could swipe the nomination from more establishment candidates, disconsolate Republican senators and House members dealt with a growing inevitability after Trump's wins in seven states Tuesday cemented his front-runner status.
Other senators agreed that there's not much a Congress with single-digit approval ratings can do to sway anti-establishment voters after Trump's disparate wins Tuesday night, in states like Massachusetts, Alabama and Virginia.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, who saw Trump win his state on Tuesday, said Americans on both sides of the aisle are "creating their own insurgency" as a fractious Congress has failed to resolve critical issues.
Republicans, who hold a 54-46 edge in the Senate, have to protect more seats, including seven in states that President Barack Obama won twice.
"Right now there's just a sense of, we don't have a lot of control over this," said Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, another member of GOP leadership.
Other senators said if the candidates continue to fracture the vote, it could lead to a contested convention.
[...] Georgia Sen. David Perdue said the "conversation about a third-party play and all this sort of stuff" makes him nervous, recalling failed third-party runs by Ross Perot in 1992.