House Speaker Paul Ryan suggested Tuesday night that he could reach for the Republican presidential nomination during a contested convention in Cleveland.
“You know, I haven’t given any thought to this stuff,” Ryan told CNBC Tuesday. “People say, ‘What about the contested convention?’ I say, well, there are a lot of people running for president. We’ll see. Who knows.”
Ryan acknowledged that people are talking to him about how he could get the nomination at a brokered convention where un-pledged delegates can ignore the results of their states’ primaries once the first convention ballot is taken.
“You should run for president if you’re going to be president,” he said, but then he told CNBC’s John Harwood that he would not categorically rule out the possibility of taking the crown during a contested convention.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump increased his lead with a commanding victory in Florida and wins in Illinois and North Carolina. But Ohio governor John Kasich won his own state, giving him what he apparently feels is enough momentum to head all the way to the convention in Cleveland to try to stop Trump in a contested convention.
To win the nomination on the first ballot, Trump has to win roughly 65 percent of the remaining pool of GOP delegates in California, Pennsylvania, and other states that have not yet voted.
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