One of Donald Trump’s top advisers on delegates met with Trump-backing congressmen at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington Thursday morning. The meeting was meant to offer reassurances on the campaign’s delegate strategy as worries loom about a contested convention that could deny Trump the nomination.
Political consultant Ed Brookover, who was Ben Carson’s campaign manager and is now advising Trump on delegate selection, told TPM that he met with seven congressman and some staff Thursday morning. Brookover told reporters that the meeting centered on delegate math and how he is confident that Trump easily sails to 1,265 delegates ahead of the convention in Cleveland.
The meeting on the hill came after weeks of frustration and fear that the Trump campaign–whose success had been built on massive rallies and Trump’s cult of personality–was coming up short when it came to grassroots infrastructure needed to shore up delegates.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), a Trump supporter, said that he’s confident after the meeting with Brookover that Trump will have a lock on the nomination after the California primary. Collins told reporters that the topic of a contested convention, which seems almost imminent, did not come up for discussion.
“We went through state by state and the math added up to 1265 and I am comfortable,” Collins said.
At the meeting, lawmakers like Collins as well as Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) discussed how they could better mobilize support on the Hill.
Marino told TPM that the group continues to grow and he personally knew of half a dozen lawmakers who were interested in learning more about the Trump campaign, but had prior commitments and were unable to attend Thursday’s meeting.
“We are going to continue meeting every week as long as we are in D.C. and we are going to need a bigger room,” Marino said.
