When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president just over a year ago, most members of the news media and many politicalpundits didn't give him much of a chance at success. Fast forward 13 months later and the billionaire real estate mogul is two weeks away from accepting the nomination from the GOP, but he might not get a chance to choose his own running mate.
"Never Trump" still alive
With the odds of replacing Trump at the convention fading away from reality, the "Never Trump" movement is throwing one last Hail Mary in an attempt to block his running mate, using possible rule changes to pick who joins the ticket.
Hundreds of delegates have come together to form an anti-Trump movement within the Republican party, and have been vocal in their opposition to the former host of "The Apprentice." As reported by The Hill on July 9, Republican delegates are exploring ways to impact the convention.
Anti-Trump delegates plotting to pick their own VP at convention: report https://t.co/iTNCe9gFRp pic.twitter.com/ZulIFn7tzj
— The Hill (@thehill) July 9, 2016
Hundreds of delegates who oppose Trump are set to propose a convention change to the Rules Committee. In the proposal, the anti-Trump faction calls for delegates to be able to vote fora vice president other than who the nominee chooses, and that the nominee's choice has no impact on who the delegates decide on.
In addition, if the nominee's running mate does not receive at least two-thirds of the delegate support on the first ballot of voting, the choice for vice president would then be decided by multiple votes.
If the proposal is accepted, it would "take the decision making out of the hands of the RNC and Trump and into the hands of delegates," according to a source close to the anti-Trump group.
Recent reports note that Trump has narrowed down his selection for vice president, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and current New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the top of the list.
Election outlook
Barring a historic collapse, Trump will walk out of the convention as the GOP nominee, and will head into a general election race against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. According to the latest Real Clear Politics rolling average, Clinton holds a slight lead, 44.9 percent to 44.3 percent over Trump.