“Many GOP lobbyists will go to Cleveland but the thrill is gone”

WaPo:

For many Republican lobbyists, the thrill surrounding this year’s Republican convention in Cleveland is, well, gone.

Instead, it’s been replaced by such emotions as anxiety, uncertainty and unease — not exactly the sentiments Republicans want to feel as they crown their presidential nominee in July.

Until recently, many senior Republican lobbyists backed the wrong horse in the chaotic presidential primary — Jeb Bush, the early establishment favorite and, later, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. But it is Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who have emerged with the best shot of taking the GOP prize, lobbing criticism that often seemed aimed squarely at K Street.

Despite their reservations, top GOP lobbyists are still planning to decamp to Cleveland this summer, if only to watch possibly the first contested convention the party has seen since 1976.

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