Palin to make sure Ryan is primaried for not supporting Trump, ruin his 2020

[TJ in Oregon]

It's sort of difficult to imagine Ryan losing to this dude, though I agree he could lose the Speakership (not that he wants it anyway!).

Ryan's district is something of a rurban thing that happens to be trapped in the corner of the state by other metro areas. The huge Cruz margin is skewed toward the Waukesha and other metro MKE part of the district while Trump won Kenosha and Janesville. So basically, Ryan just needs to keep the support of the NeverTrump heartland of Wisconsin and the support of his hometown. In past years there have been people who vote for him for the House while voting for the Democrat in every other race.

Granted the way this year has gone, it's hard to categorically rule anything out.

[TJ in Oregon]

TJ, how would you rate the chances of Dems picking up the seat if Ryan were to retire or lose his primary in an upset?

I agree with Adam. Without Ryan the seat is potentially competitive. It is still R+5 so picking it up wouldn't be a given, but with the Atlas red tsunami headed Wisconsin's way this fall, it's certainly possible.

[TJ in Oregon]

So about this... I'm on the Romney mailing list since I donated to his campaign and apparently he's now doing a big fundraising mailer on behalf of Ryan for Congress. The letter even has a few backhanded attacks on Trump and Palin, saying "Ryan has never been one to engage in the divisive, hurtful politics of personal destruction and yet he is facing ugly attacks thanks to his courageous leadership."

Well, it's not wrong. The moment he was coerced into the Speakership the Tea Party started jumping down his throat for failing to shut the government down over every single bill. Then the Trumpists took command and the rest is history.