The Stop Trump forces are beginning to pour money into television ads, with a particular focus on the big states voting March 15.
Republicans hoping to halt Donald Trump's march to their party's presidential nomination emerged from the weekend's voting contests newly emboldened by Trump's uneven electoral performance and by some nascent signs that he may be peaking with voters.
Outside groups are moving to deploy more than $10 million in new attack ads across Florida and millions more in Illinois, casting Trump as a liberal, a huckster and a draft dodger. Trump's reed-thin organization appears to be catching up with him, suggesting he could be at a disadvantage if he is forced into a protracted slog for delegates.
And vote tallies Saturday made clear that Trump has had at least some trouble building upon his intensely loyal following, leaving him increasingly dependent upon landslides in early voting.
In Louisiana, where Trump amassed a lead of more than 20 percentage points among those who cast votes before Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas effectively tied him among voters who cast their ballots Saturday.
Trump's losses to Cruz in Kansas and Maine on Saturday coupled with closer-than-expected victories in Louisiana and Kentucky, have heightened the prospects for a two-man race, though many Republican leaders eye Cruz warily.
The Stop Trump forces are beginning to pour money into television ads, with a particular focus on the big states voting March 15.
Two from the American Future Fund, which has spent $2 million in Florida and Illinois, show decorated veterans assailing Trump as a poseur on military matters. Michael Waltz, a retired Special Forces colonel, blisteringly calls Trump a draft dodger and, effectively, a coward. "Donald Trump hasn't served this country a day in his life," he says. "Don't let Trump fool you."
The deluge of negative messages from a patchwork of groups already appears to have hurt Trump's cause.
Still, members of the Republican establishment have been left to grapple with what was once unthinkable: rallying around Cruz, a senator who built his reputation bashing them.
"Some hope with Ted, no hope with Donald," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on "Meet the Press," summarizing the party's dim view of its remaining options. Neither, he suggested, would be likely to expand the Republican tent: "We're in a demographic death spiral."
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Outside groups are moving to deploy more than $10 million in new attack ads across Florida and millions more in Illinois, casting Trump as a liberal, a huckster and a draft dodger. Trump's reed-thin organization appears to be catching up with him, suggesting he could be at a disadvantage if he is forced into a protracted slog for delegates.
And vote tallies Saturday made clear that Trump has had at least some trouble building upon his intensely loyal following, leaving him increasingly dependent upon landslides in early voting.
In Louisiana, where Trump amassed a lead of more than 20 percentage points among those who cast votes before Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas effectively tied him among voters who cast their ballots Saturday.
Trump's losses to Cruz in Kansas and Maine on Saturday coupled with closer-than-expected victories in Louisiana and Kentucky, have heightened the prospects for a two-man race, though many Republican leaders eye Cruz warily.
The Stop Trump forces are beginning to pour money into television ads, with a particular focus on the big states voting March 15.
Two from the American Future Fund, which has spent $2 million in Florida and Illinois, show decorated veterans assailing Trump as a poseur on military matters. Michael Waltz, a retired Special Forces colonel, blisteringly calls Trump a draft dodger and, effectively, a coward. "Donald Trump hasn't served this country a day in his life," he says. "Don't let Trump fool you."
The deluge of negative messages from a patchwork of groups already appears to have hurt Trump's cause.
Still, members of the Republican establishment have been left to grapple with what was once unthinkable: rallying around Cruz, a senator who built his reputation bashing them.
"Some hope with Ted, no hope with Donald," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on "Meet the Press," summarizing the party's dim view of its remaining options. Neither, he suggested, would be likely to expand the Republican tent: "We're in a demographic death spiral."
© 2016, The New York Times News Service
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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