Republican establishment warms to Trump after big New York win

April 20, 2016

By Steve Holland

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican officials began meeting on Wednesday, a day after Donald Trump's crushing victory in a New York presidential nominating contest, and said he has been winning growing acceptance within their ranks - but they want to see the billionaire do more to mend fences with the party establishment.

Trump, the front-runner to become the Republican presidential candidate in November's election, was the focus for the party's spring meeting of 168 Republican National Committee (RNC) members in Hollywood, Florida. The three-day conclave at an oceanside resort will take stock of the race for the White House and prepare for a possible contested convention in July in Cleveland.

The New York real estate mogul's win Tuesday in his home state over rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich was an important milestone for RNC members, who said it could put him on a pathway to acquire the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination outright without a contested convention.

"There are a fair number of RNC members who were discounting his chances of success when we met in January and now see that he’s building a substantial lead and may in fact get to 1,237 before we get to the convention," said Steve Duprey, an RNC member from New Hampshire.

"The New York results were such an overwhelming win," Duprey said. "It's impressive. That's what I've heard people talking about."

RNC members said Trump could help improve the climate by taking steps to end the bad blood that has developed between him and the committee's leadership, including RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

Trump has said that Cruz's harvest of delegates in Colorado, where rank-and-file Republicans did not vote or caucus, showed that the party's nominating process is "rigged." He has wondered whether Priebus, who is popular with the RNC ranks, should continue in his job if Trump is the nominee.

"I think it's time for that rhetoric to...

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