Political Expert: Trump Has A Ceiling On Support

/**/ /**/

Politics ruled the conversation on the main stage atXChange Solution Provider 2016in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, where political expert Dan Schnur told the crowd of IT professionals that businessman Donald Trump may not be running away with the Republican presidential race.

"Trump has a ceiling on his support," said Schnur, who serves as director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. "Very few polls -- and those tend to be outliers -- very few polls show him attracting more than 35 or so percent."

According to Schnur, that number counts far more in a field of five or 10 candidates than in, say, a field of three.

’When you get 35 percent of the vote in a field of two candidates, well that -- to use one of Mr. Trump’s favorite words -- is a loser,’ he said.

Schnur said Trump's greatest advantage right now is that his Republican competitors refuse to drop out. With the field staying as broad as it is, he can continue to win states and delegates with totals around 35 percent.

Next week will be crucial, he said, as voters in Florida and Ohio cast ballots, where Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. John Kasich might be able to take their respective home states. In that scenario, the country could see the first brokered convention in ages.

Schnur cautioned the IT pros in the room that political extremists on both ends of the spectrum pose a "mortal threat" to their businesses.

"The closer to the goalposts the candidates are, the more damaging they are to you," he said.