Below is the text of the column by Scott Rasmussen.
Even though they are currently fierce adversaries, there are plenty of reasons to believe Donald Trump and Ted Cruz could work together in a fall campaign.
The basic reason is basic: It’s in their best interests. In fact, we’re already seeing examples of the pragmatism that’s drawing them closer together. Both Trump and Cruz are calling on Ohio Gov. John Kasich to drop out of the race.
Moreover, both Trump and Cruz share a common interest in preventing the Republican establishment from stealing the nomination. In every primary outside Kasich’s home state, outsiders have demolished insiders. It’s clear that GOP voters are rejecting the status quo, and that reality is driving support for both frontrunners.
Many Republican insiders are hoping for a scenario that would allow a divided convention to ignore both Trump and Cruz in favor of choosing someone like 2012 nominee Mitt Romney or House Speaker Paul Ryan. Neither would be eligible under the current convention rules, but those rules could be changed at the convention itself.
This attempt by the establishment to change the rules gives Trump and Cruz another reason to work together. They will work to get their delegates to block any such changes. Such an attempt would protect voters’ preferences and limit the choice to the two men who won in the primary season.
There has been a lot of talk about neither Trump nor Cruz having enough delegates to win a majority in the first round of voting. That’s true, but there will also be hundreds of unaffiliated delegates who will be eligible to vote. That’s more than any state will allocate. With weeks of deal-making before the convention, it’s quite possible to imagine either Trump or Cruz winning in the first round of voting.
Since Cruz has a better organization, he would be the clear favorite if a runoff vote is needed. But since Trump is a great deal maker, anything is possible.
So, given the recent heated rhetoric, you might expect whoever loses the convention to walk away with their voters and split the party. But that’s not the only possibility. It may not even be the most likely scenario. Even after all the convention votes are counted, there will still be reasons for the two gentlemen to work together.
Because it would be in the best interest of the runner-up to support the winner. That’s what happened at the last contentious Republican convention in 1976. President Gerald Ford narrowly beat Ronald Reagan. Reagan’s concession speech was graceful, and he worked difficult on Ford’s behalf right up until Election Day.
When Ford lost to Jimmy Carter, Reagan was well-positioned to campaign again. He took office just four years later and became the most crucial president of the last half-century. If either loses at the convention, both Trump and Cruz will have robust incentives to follow in Reagan’s footsteps.
I know it’s difficult to imagine now, but it’s entirely possible that Republicans will emerge from the convention as a unified party determined to defeat presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Despite all the rhetoric, both Trump and Cruz will discover that it’s in their best interest to unite, not divide, the party.
