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 Do they back the rage-infused, turn-back-the-clock tone of Trump,
or perhaps his conservative, evangelical rival, Ted Cruz? Or do they
favor the sunnier, more inclusive appeals of emerging establishment
favorite Marco Rubio or Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Not only will the answer decide the Republican nominee, it may well
change what it means to be a Republican. The party is enduring a
schism between those who want to work within the system and those
want to tear it down.
“The GOP is broken [and] may not be salvageable,” said Juleanna
Glover, a Republican consultant in Washington who had supported Jeb
Bush, who dropped out of the race on Saturday after a poor showing
in South Carolina. Trump’s support, she said, shows that one-third
of the party’s voters “want out.”
Bush, the former Florida governor, had been part of that camp of
Republican establishment optimists. Ben Carson, the right-wing
retired neurosurgeon, was never a factor in South Carolina and could
be the next to exit.
 That leaves a Final Four, of sorts, as the campaign maintains a
southern focus for a string of contests on March 1 that include
Georgia, Texas, and Virginia. Trump and Cruz will be the favorites
in many of them, with Rubio, a senator from Florida, and Kasich seen
struggling until the primary schedule shifts to more hospitable
regions, including their home states.
Rubio finished in a near tie for second in South Carolina with Cruz,
rebounding strongly from his stumble in New Hampshire, where he
finished fifth and was criticized for being overly scripted. He
stands to benefit the most from Bush’s departure as the perceived
establishment standard-bearer.
Kasich trailed well behind, managing fewer votes than Bush.
GOING TO EXTREMES
Billionaire real estate developer Trump has racked up wins in two of
the three early-voting states by channeling the disillusionment many
Americans, especially the white working-class, feel with stagnant
wages, globalization, the influence of corporate money in politics,
and a gridlocked government.
Cruz, a senator from Texas, has courted libertarian and religious
voters who believe their values are under assault.
Both strike a tone of alarm, largely about the porous U.S. southwest
border and the threat of Islamic State. And both often offer a paean
to the past, asking voters to envision a time when the country
appeared to be more prosperous and homogenous.
Some Republicans fear that the appeal of either candidate will
simply be too narrow.
“It’s a dangerous direction for us to go in,” said Chip Felkel, a
Republican strategist in Greenville, South Carolina.
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“I’ll argue with anyone that a Cruz nominee or Trump nominee is
someone who can expand this party and help us beat the Democrats.”
Alternatively, Rubio and Kasich bill themselves as healers of
America’s fractured politics. On the stump, Rubio speaks of uniting
the quarrelsome factions of the Republican Party, and has embraced
diversity in a way that his competitors have not.
After the South Carolina results rolled in, Rubio, a Cuban-American,
stood with South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, the daughter of
Indian Sikh immigrants, and Tim Scott, an African-American
Republican senator from the state.
“This country is now ready for a new generation of conservatives to
lead us into the 21st century,” Rubio said.
Rubio has vowed to grow and unite the party and broaden its appeal
among younger Americans.
At a rally on Friday in North Charleston, Adam Mandel, 57, was
approving of Rubio. “He seems to be a little bit more willing not to
go to extremes,” Mandel said.
The contrast between Rubio’s events Friday and those of Trump and
Cruz was vivid. Trump, just a day after getting into public spat
with Pope Francis, told an apocryphal story about a general who
executed Muslims using bullets dipped in pig blood. Cruz‘s rally
featured Phil Robertson, star of the reality show “Duck Dynasty” who
has condemned homosexuality as sinful.
But some Republican voters worry that Rubio, who, like Cruz, is a
first-term senator, and Kasich, who has labeled himself “the prince
of light and hope”, aren’t tough of enough to usher in the radical
change they crave.
“I think Rubio is too easily influenced by the establishment,” James
Vinson, 70, a Cruz supporter from Charleston said. “I think he’ll be
their guy."
(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Caren Bohan and Stuart
Grudgings)
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