Talk is growing louder in Republican circles about the chance for a contested presidential convention with none of the four current candidates able to win a majority of delegates. Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour tells
National Review Online that such an outcome is “highly unlikely,” though not impossible.
“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 said. “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 the unlikely event of a contested convention, an alternative candidate could emerge, he said. “It is unlikely but not out of the question. The operative word is ‘could.’ Could? Yeah. Likely? No.”
Some Republicans are pining for Barbour’s buddy, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to join the race. “It is highly unlikely but it could happen,” Barbour said. “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 you’re going to want to bet on.”
As for Barbour himself, “I’ve had my last government job,” he chuckled.
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