Talking Points: Division In The Republican Party
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Like Republicans across the country, those in Minnesota are struggling with the fact that Donald Trump is the last Republican candidate standing and will almost certainly be the party's presidential nominee.
Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty said last week he does not agree with everything Trump stands for but will support him. On the other hand, former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman called Trump "a bigot, a misogynist, a fraud and a bully," and said he could never vote for him.
Privately, some Republican leaders fear voters will be so turned off by Trump that it will effect Congressional and state legislative races. Publicly, however, they say some level of unity can be achieved.
Chris Fields, the deputy chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning.
"I think, at the end of the day, the large part of the Republican party is going to come together," he said. "Look, Donald Trump got more votes than anybody in Republican primary history -- a million more than Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney had 93 percent of Republicans, I think Donald Trump will be right there, if not a little bit better."
Republicans are also taking comfort in the fact that for the past year Trump has proved all the naysayers wrong. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, blew huge leads in several polls -- including one in Minnesota -- only to come in second to challenger Bernie Sanders.
