The Iowa caucuses are six months away. Some Republicans worry that Donald Trump may be unstoppable

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Past leaders have not always gone on to win their parties’ nominations, but the growing sense of Donald Trump’s inevitability has raised alarms among some Republicans desperate for the party to move on. Some described a sense of panic or DEFCON 1, as one said as they scrambled to try to derail Trump and change the trajectory of the race. But there is no clear plan or strategy on how to do that and Trump’s detractors have yet to rally around a single alternative candidate.

They are deeply concerned, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said of fellow Republican leaders who share his view that replacing Trump would be a disaster for the party next November. People expect us to make more progress than we have at this point. Polling finds that Trump regularly beats his closest rival by 20 to 30 points or more.”

Meanwhile, anti-Trump Republicans have yet to agree on an alternative, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantishas has struggled to build momentum, leaving many still waiting to see if another viable alternative can emerge from the pack. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has gotten growing attention.

Some groups opposed to Trump’s candidacy have begun spending big on efforts to undermine his support, even though they have yet to work with another candidate. Win It Back PAC, a new independent super PAC affiliated with the conservative Club For Growth Action, invested $3.6 million this month in a new ad featuring a purported Trump supporter tired of former presidents’ antics.

The conservative Americans for Prosperity Action, part of the network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, also sought to undermine Trump with door-knocking and phone calls. The group said it found in conversations with voters that Trumps support is softer than most had thought and that even those who identify as Trump supporters are concerned about his electability in a general election. and open to an alternative.

Not everyone, however, agrees with the anti-Trump approach. Former GOP pollster Frank Luntz, who runs focus groups in Iowa, warns such messaging makes Trump more likely to win because it makes him a victim.

While his rivals spent Friday in Iowa at the Family Leadership Summit, Trump headed to Florida, where he will have the stage largely to himself at the annual Turning Point Action conference, a gathering of thousands of young conservative.

While DeSantis has a longtime relationship with organizer Charlie Kirk and has been featured in previous years’ events with Trump and received warm receptions from the crowd, DeSantis declined the groups’ invitation, citing a scheduling conflict.

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