He's very formidable. I would never underestimate him in the general. He's beating politicians at their own game, and it's not even close.
This.
Why is it shocking that Trump would be a "formidable opponent"? He's been the frontrunner from the beginning; the one constant in the GOP race has been Trump's lead. He has support from all types of Republicans, and he has support of the most VIBRANT GOP voters at this point. The vibrant activists that were supposed to propel Cruz have defected in large numbers to Trump. Indeed, a number of "Establishment Republicans" have defected to Trump to stop Cruz.
Stopping Trump from being nominated will probably be impossible after tonight without resorting to heavy-handed tactics that would not go over well with the voters that support Trump. And the GOP NEEDS these voters to win, and to elect Senators to boot. How will it play if they manipulate to gain a brokered convention, then force an "airlifted" candidate on the GOP in a brokered convention? How will Trump voters feel about getting behind a ticket of John Thune and Nikki Haley?
Stopping Trump in the general will require shoring up the Democratic base. Trump is a Map Expander; he's not likely to finish in the Blue/Red box we've been in for so long. I think that this year, the electorate will swing strongly, one way or the other. I also think that Trump, while having the capacity to do himself in, has the capacity to rally folks for a mini-landslide.
