GOP race suggests contested nomination

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The lack of a clear GOP front-runner in the U.S. presidential race leads many to speculate on a contested nomination at the party's September convention.

The wide-open Republican race has caused many party officials and leading political strategists to raise the possibility of a rare contested presidential nominating convention, The Washington Times reported Monday.

"As late as it is in this election cycle, no candidate in our party has moved enough to be assured of the nomination, and the models I look at suggest a serious possibility we could have a brokered convention," said Republican National Committee Treasurer Timothy J. Morgan.

Brett Sciotto, a GOP strategists based in Ohio, told the Times the contested Republican field makes it more difficult to rally against Democratic rivals.

Pollster John Zogby agrees, saying a contested GOP convention is plausible, even creating an opening for "someone not currently in the field," but Grover Norquist with the Americans for Tax Reform says back room deals may plaque any possible contention.

The GOP last witnessed a contested GOP nomination in 1948 when it took three ballots for Thomas Dewey to win the nomination over Harold Stassen.