Paul Ryan Won’t Rule Out Accepting GOP Nomination: ‘We’ll See’

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said Tuesday he wouldn’t categorically rule out accepting the Republican Party’s presidential nomination if it came to that in a deadlocked convention.

Asked about the possibility in an interview with CNBC, Ryan said, “I haven’t given any thought to this stuff.”

“People say, ‘What about the contested convention?’ I say, well, there are a lot of people running for President. We’ll see. Who knows,” the Wisconsin congressman said.

The remarks were published as frontrunner Donald Trump further consolidated his lead with decisive primary wins in Florida, North Carolina and Illinois.

With the rise of Trump’s insurgent candidacy, party insiders have continually returned to the idea of a brokered convention as their last chance to stop Trump. Ryan will chair at the national convention this summer.

But he told CNBC that he doesn’t see the party looking for a nominee outside of the current field of candidates come convention time.

“I’m not thinking about it. I’m happy where I am, so no,” Ryan said. “I’m not running for president. I made that decision, consciously, not to.”

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