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 But the Republican National Committee member, a partner at law
firm Ice Miller, said no anti-Trump group ever reached out to him,
nor did he see any evidence that such groups were in the state until
just a few days before voting in Indiana's primary election. By the
time some direct mail and TV ads popped up, it was "too late" to
make a difference, he said.
"There was never really any early ‘Stop Trump’ effort in Indiana,"
he told Reuters.
Trump became the Republican party's presumptive nominee on Tuesday
with his resounding win in Indiana's primary, which led his main
rival U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas to drop out and heaped pressure
on distant third-place contender John Kasich, the Ohio governor, to
do the same.
In the process, Trump dealt a seemingly fatal blow to the
high-profile effort known as "Stop Trump" or "Never Trump" launched
by conservative Republicans.
The movement - led by the conservative anti-tax nonprofit Club for
Growth and the Our Principles PAC - for months failed to
significantly slow Trump's momentum and now appears to be on death
watch, political operatives and at least three officials involved in
the movement say.
 It emerged over the U.S. winter as initial skepticism over Trump's
chances turned to anxiety among conservatives, who view many of the
Manhattan real estate mogul's policy pledges as a liberal threat to
their low-tax, low-spending principles.
But from the start it was hobbled by poor coordination, the lack of
a single, influential public leader, and the absence of an
agreed-upon alternative to Trump, according to leaders in the
movement as well as Republican operatives familiar with it.
“You have to have a plan of action to deal with him,” said
Republican strategist Doug Heye, a Trump opponent who has ties to
people in the movement. “And it appears no one really did.”
Publicly, leaders in the Stop Trump movement dispute the notion that
they were ineffective, saying their efforts in Wisconsin helped head
off a Trump win in April. They also say the groups communicate
effectively with one another and that they will continue fighting
despite the Indiana results.
"We will continue to educate voters about Trump until he, or another
candidate, wins the support of a majority of delegates to the
Convention," Katie Packer, chair of the Our Principles PAC said in a
statement on Tuesday.
But, in private, three top officials associated with the movement
conceded that Indiana was a “do or die” moment.
LATE START, LACK OF COORDINATION
The movement suffered a major setback when Republican mega donors
declined to play the role of “Trump Slayers.”
Both casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and the billionaire
industrialist Koch brothers, decided not to repeat their experience
in 2012, when they lavished hundreds of millions of dollars on
Republican candidates only to see no returns.
Deprived of such major financial backers, Club for Growth and Our
Principles PAC together spent only $27 million on anti-Trump
messaging, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s campaign and Super PAC
have spent at least $78 million so far, according to FEC reports.
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The groups and their associates focused their messaging over the
winter and spring on television and social media ads and Twitter
blasts highlighting Trump’s comments about women being “bimbos,”
“dogs” and “fat pigs,” as well as his statements supporting
universal health care and higher taxes.
Throughout their campaign, the two groups did not coordinate
directly with one another or even converse on a regular basis,
according to one Club for Growth official.
It wasn’t until last week that Our Principles PAC and the Stop Trump
effort in California, led by political consultant Rob Stutzman, even
joined forces. Officials at Club for Growth said they weren’t aware
of that California effort.
Some veteran Republican operatives said Our Principles PAC had been
a waste of time and money.
“They’ve had no leadership. They’ve spent tens of millions of
dollars by now and gotten zero message, zero movement," said one
Republican familiar with the workings of the movement. "The whole
thing has been a disaster from the beginning.”
Many donors, like Trump's rival candidates, underestimated the
tycoon, believing he would burn out after his early successes,
Republican consultants say.
Those who did come forward publicly to support the Stop Trump
movement, such as Chicago Cubs owners and Our Principles PAC funders
Joe and Marlene Ricketts, were swiftly treated to Trump’s social
media wrath.
“They better be careful,” Trump said of the Ricketts in a Tweet in
February. ”They have a lot to hide!”
By March, other wealthy families who had donated to the cause were
asking reporters not to identify them in stories anymore because
they didn’t want their spouses and children to face “abuse" from the
Trump campaign.
“I don’t think you can underestimate how effective Donald’s bullying
has been, even among wealthy donors,” said one top official at Club
for Growth.
Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed the notion that
donors had been fearful, saying the identity of campaign
contributors has long been public information.
(Additional reporting by Emily Flitter; Editing by Stuart Grudgings)
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