Anti-Trump delegate faction says it's raising cash

Washington, June 20: A faction of Republicans opposed to Donald Trump is pitching a last-ditch effort to stop the party's presumptive presidential nominee on a long-shot rules change at the national convention in July.

On Sunday night, the Republican operatives trying to drum up an anti-Trump coalition held their second conference call in five days.

According to organiser Steve Lonegan, about 1,000 interested people were on the call -- up sharply from the roughly three dozen who were on a similar call last week, CNN reported on Monday.

The goal is passing a rule at the Republican National Convention slated for July 2 that would free delegates to vote their "conscience", negating any binding put in place by states' primaries.

The group has the backing of Courageous Conservatives PAC (Political Action Committee), a group which Lonegan serves as spokesman for and originally backed Texas Senator Ted Cruz during his race.

The PAC will serve as a fundraising vehicle, Lonegan said. As of its last filing, the group had just over $4,000 cash on hand and had raised a total of about $360,000 in the primary.

Next steps for the effort include a round of television and radio appearances, and encouraging supporters to make their own outreach through the press and social media.

"We're walking into a disaster with this guy," said Pat Brady, the former Illinois Republican chairman.

"If there's a chance we can clean up the mess, I want to be part of it," he added.

IANS