Koch endorsement shows donor class still prefers Trump to populist alternative

Seven years ago, Republican donors failed to coalesce around an alternative to Donald Trump, allowing a candidate who was under 30% nationally as late as February 2016 to walk away with the nomination as a divided field could never top his celebrity power.

This cycle, Trump is in a stronger position, but, particularly in the early states, he is still below a majority of Republican support. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is best positioned to beat Trump, especially in Iowa. The problem for other candidates, especially Nikki Haley, is that DeSantis...