Former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, an influential GOP power broker, tells National Review Online that a contested convention is a possible, though “highly unlikely,” scenario.
“There is an outside chance, unlikely though it is, that you could get to the convention and have three or four candidates still in the race, none of them close to having a majority of delegates,” he says. “But the idea that there would be a contested convention, where you actually arrive in Tampa and nobody has the votes, would defy decades of history.”
In such a situation — and he repeatedly cautions that the possibility is remote — Barbour acknowledges that an outside candidate could emerge as a consensus nominee. “It is unlikely but not out of the question,” he says. “The operative word is ‘could.’ Could? Yeah. Likely? No.”
Barbour is aware of the clamor in certain circles for his friend Indiana governor Mitch Daniels to enter the fray. Once again, “It is highly unlikely but it could happen,” he says. “It is certainly more of a possibility than ever in the past. However, in the past, the possibility was zero, so to say the odds are higher than zero is not something that, I think, you’re going to want to bet on.”
Daniels says he will not reconsider. But should he? “I would have liked it if he had run. He decided not to. That was his decision,” Barbour says. “I’m not going to get in the business of telling any friend of mine, ‘This is what you ought to do.’ I’m not going to do it publicly or privately. And I haven’t done it, publicly or privately.”
Barbour, for his part, is not interested in running, should the Beltway chatter about a contested convention become a summer reality. “I’ve had my last government job,” he chuckles. “This is one of the few things in my life where I would actually agree with General Sherman.”
On a parting note, Barbour urges conservatives to not fret. “The fact of the matter is that the contests have gone through mid-February. We have three-and-a-half months to go,” he says. “You may very well see one of these four candidates, one who hits stride and turns out to be the best candidate we ever had.”’
“I’ve had my last government job,” he chuckles. “This is one of the few things in my life where I would actually agree with General Sherman.”
Is this a joke? After those pardons he would have trouble being elected dog catcher.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, an influential GOP power broker...."
Anyone influenced by Haley Barbour ought to be ashamed of himself.
And Mr. Costa, if you're the one who interviewed him, you should be ashamed of yourself as well.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePlease...unless and until NRO looks into and reports upon the mass pardons of mass criminals who served Barbour tea and crumpets in the governor's mansion, please don't insult our intelligence by quoting Haley Barbour. You may as well go out and ask Bill Clinton and James Carville for their advice...
What is this fascination NRO has with losers like Rove and Barbour?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Barbour: Contested GOP Convention Unlikely But Possible"
Powerful statement. Where would we be without such visionary GOP thinkers?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI would suggest that the possibility of a divided convention nominating someone who did not compete in any primaries is almost nil. But there may be an opening for someone to join the race in the next few weeks, compete in caucuses, late primaries, and as a write-in in some primaries that allow it. Such a candidate may be able to accumulate enough delegates to deny others a majority, and would have a good argument for the nomination if he won most of the late primaries - which include California and probably Texas. I think the path probably requires Romney to falter over the next couple weeks, because such a campaign will require a great deal of money and establishment support - though the candidate also needs to be more conservative than Romney. Then maybe we get a convention with delegate counts something like Santorum 850, Candidate X 600, Romney 350, Paul 250, Gingrich 150.
I doubt anyone will try it, but I think that is the most plausible path for a new candidate.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe continuously waste time on something that has about a .0000001% chance of happening?
Are you so desparate to avoid having a candidate to the right of Romney, who currently seems likely to lose, that you're engaging in these ridiculous fantasies?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo, NRO, a dozen or more stories on the Corner; 2 video clips, of Newt & Santorum; and other stories on both. Why not a single video clip of Romney's speeches this week on the economy. It's a wonder Romney is in the running and rising in the polls. He is running against the liberal media and the conservative media. And yet a majority or Republicans believe him to be the best Republican to beat Obama.
Please either be impartial or come out and support Santorum or Newt so there is at least some truth in advertising.
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