This story was originally published on nationaljournal.com on April 28, 2016. The thing that I never thought would happen is really happening. The idea that the Republican Party would nominate Donald Trump—reality TV star, real estate developer, and all-around showboat—seemed ridiculous and, as I kept saying, inconceivable. How could the Republican faithful possibly pick a man whose willful ignorance about issues would set a new low for major-party presidential nominees? A moderately responsible party would certainly repudiate his candidacy and nominate someone more suited for the job. After all, the Republicans had almost a dozen and a half alternatives. But they decided not to, and the cake is baked. My Cook Political Report colleague David Wasserman calculates that, on Tuesday, Trump won all 34 congressional districts and each of the 107 counties in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. For the first time in this race, Trump has won 50 percent of the delegates selected thus far. I see no way that his nomination can be stopped. There was little reason to think this would happen. Candidates either embraced
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