GOP leaders increasingly see South Carolina as their last best chance to stop Donald Trump's populist political juggernaut.
On Wednesday, influential South Carolina Republican Katon Dawson issued a plea for former President George W. Bush to step into the ring in the Palmetto State's Feb. 20 primary. Bush is quite popular among South Carolina Republicans, and Dawson called his involvement a potential "game changer."
"If {George W. Bush} engages, it will matter for his brother {Jeb Bush}, but really, it will matter for the entire team," Dawson told Bloomberg News.
The Palmetto State appears uniquely positioned this cycle. While it follows Iowa and New Hampshire on the primary calendar, but is already drawing intense attention from candidates and pundits alike.
The pro-Jeb Bush Right to Rise PAC recently announced a $4 million TV ad buy in South Carolina.
On Tuesday, Rubio's Conservative Solutions PAC unveiled its first TV ad there, touting the Florida senator's strong support for the U.S. military. The dollar value of that ad buy was not announced.
owery, the conservative InsiderAdvantage pollster, says it's obvious the GOP establishment won't be doing Trump any favors.
"The establishment Republican Party -- most of whom I know well, and I'm not putting them down -- but they make their bread and butter out of controlling people, or at least being hired to help them package themselves.
"So far, Trump has basically thumbed his nose at all of them and doesn't need them," he adds. "So of course they're all going to band together -- because this is their last stand."
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