According to a report from Politico, four Republican state parties are making plans to cancel their presidential primaries before the 2020 election making it easier for Donald Trump to hold on to the nomination and avoid criticism from rivals.
The reports state that "South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and Kansas are expected to finalize the cancellations in meetings this weekend, according to three GOP officials who are familiar with the plans."
While he stands little chance of displacing the president on the ballot, former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) -- who is challenging Trump -- called foul on the move and accused the party of running interference for a damaged incumbent.
“Trump and his allies and the Republican National Committee are doing whatever they can do to eliminate primaries in certain states and make it very difficult for primary challengers to get on the ballot in a number of states,” explained Walsh. “It’s wrong, the RNC should be ashamed of itself, and I think it does show that Trump is afraid of a serious primary challenge because he knows his support is very soft.”
“Primary elections are important, competition within parties is good, and we intend to be on the ballot in every single state no matter what the RNC and Trump allies try to do,” Walsh added. “We also intend to loudly call out this undemocratic bull on a regular basis.”
The report notes that aides of Trump in the White House have been working behind the scenes with state parties while inserting Trump loyalists to ensure a smooth path that shuts out conflicting views.
In defense of their moves, some state parties claim they are canceling due to economic concerns -- eliminating spending money on a primary that they feel is a foregone conclusion.
“It would be malpractice on my part to waste money on a caucus to come to the inevitable conclusion that President Trump will be getting all our delegates in Charlotte,” said Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald. “We should be spending those funds to get all our candidates across the finish line instead.”
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