https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/19/gop-leaders-no-appetite-for-an-anti-trump-candidat/
Mr. Weld has plenty of things working against him, not the least of them history. Although President Lyndon Johnson didn’t seek re-election in 1968, the last time a sitting president failed to get his party’s nomination was 1884, when these things were decided by party bosses in smoke-filled rooms.
Now, they’re settled by voters at caucuses and primaries — and Mr. Trump is massively popular with his base.
Across the board, local party leaders had nothing but praise for Mr. Trump, who they say has continued to deliver on his campaign promises for the past two years.
“I think even prominent Republican figures would not be able to successfully beat Trump in a primary,” said Jason Wasson, chairman of the local party in Linn County, Iowa. “I think his popularly is only growing.”
“He’s earned the right to have the confidence of the Republican Party going into 2020,” said Mr. Murphy in New Hampshire. “And based on that, there isn’t any Republican groundswell for someone, or an interest in drafting someone, to challenge our successful incumbent Republican president.”