Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton and the Divided GOP: With a Fractured Support Base Can Republicans Win 2016 Presidential Elections?

Ted Cruz resistant until the end – refused to endorse Trump

By Magnolia Yrasuegui, CP Contributor Friday, July 22, 2016

Ted Cruz asked voters to "vote for their conscience" – and fell short of directly endorsing Donald Trump.

Pulling the Republican Party together to rally behind Trump's candidacy is proving to be challenging. With the in-party fighting how will the Republicans face the challenge of uniting the party to defeat Hillary Clinton?

How can Trump even stand a chance when top Republican Party members have openly declared their support to Clinton?

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 "Never Trump is Never No more"

The Never Trump Republicans have tried in what seemed to be their last ditch effort to stop the party from officially nominating Trump – but it seems the movement if far from over. Never Trump will continue even after the RNC. According to them, the party is so divided that if one isn't for Trump therefore you are "no longer one of us and now one of them."

Never means never – anybody but Trump- even if anybody is Clinton.

Long-time Republicans like John Chen, Blackberry's Chief Executive, is torn. He is in favor of the tax policies that Trump wants but is also worried about the issues on Immigration and open trade. And he is not alone.

The absence of a single member of the Bush family in the convention has also added fuel to the fire. In an interview, former President George W. Bush expressed his worry that he might be the last Republican President – a comment that will not help in unifying the already divided party.

Trump vs. Clinton

Trump's best bet to win in November is for the party to rally behind him.

Of all of Trump's former rivals in the primary, people were looking to Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz may not be 100% convinced of Trump's leadership for the country but people were hopeful that his presence on stage would have bridged the gap.

But it didn't happen.

Cruz congratulated Trump in winning the primary but didn't endorse him as the next President of the United States. He even encouraged the voters to "vote for their conscience".

Trump may be the most polarizing candidate in the political history of late but he has some strong and vocal supporters to rely on. With the convention over, the party is moving forward in repackaging a more acceptable Trump - somebody who is viewed to be tough talking but with a heart. A leader who will put America's interest on top of everybody else's. A President who will defend the constitution and will make "America great again."

The challenge still is to unify the party - that at the end of day voters will embrace the fact that the race is not between the Republican Left vs. Right vs. Center but between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -Republican vs. Democrat.