Donald Trump, who made headlines at the GOP debate when he refused to commit to supporting the Republican presidential nominee if it wasn’t him, has just more than a month to decide if he’s going to remain a Republican or run as an independent in South Carolina,
ABC News reports.
In order to appear on the Palmetto State’s primary ballot — South Carolina is the third state to hold its nominating contest — GOP candidates must now sign a pledge to support the ultimate Republican nominee. The deadline to file the paperwork is Sept. 30.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson have already done so,
CNN reports, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham plan to do so this week, South Carolina GOP chairman Matt Moore told the network.
Moore said the party "would seek legal and other remedies to hold a candidate accountable for violating the pledge, including taking it to the court of public opinion."
Trump told CNN on Tuesday that his campaign is "looking into it."
"We certainly have plenty of time," he said. "We're leading every poll, we're leading every state, from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina, polls have come in from virtually every place ... so my whole desire is just fairness, and I want to run as the Republican nominee, I want to win, I think we will win.”
The pledge is new since 2011, when the South Carolina Republican Party filing form did not include the third-party pledge, Moore told ABC News, noting that candidates running for state and local office sign something similar. The forms were changed in early June to match the state and local office ones.
The Republican Party in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina are considering taking similar action, ABC reports.
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