Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally Saturday, June 18, 2016, in Phoenix.

(Ross D. Franklin, The Associated Press)

Remember all that speculation about a contested Republican National Convention? It's back. Read more in Ohio Politics Roundup.

Stop us if you've heard this one before: GOP activists frustrated that Donald Trump continues to do Donald Trump things are plotting a way to block the New York businessman's nomination for president at next month's Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

"Dozens" of delegates are in on the latest effort, the Washington Post reported Friday. And what makes this push different is that they "can actually make changes to party rules" and unbind delegates who are pledged to Trump on the first convention ballot. We're not talking about Bill Kristol or other conservative elites. "This literally is an 'Anybody but Trump' movement," Kendal Unruh, the Colorado delegate leading the latest charge, told the Post.

"Nobody has any idea who is going to step in and be the nominee, but we're not worried about that. We're just doing that job to make sure that he's not the face of our party."

Reality check: "Any stop-Trump effort would be nearly impossible to pull off at this point in the election cycle," CNN's Tom LoBianco and Tal Kopan write. "But moves such as Thursday's call demonstrate that Trump's opponents inside the GOP are trying to organize more effectively. And, perhaps more importantly, it reflects the mounting anxiety inside the party about Trump's candidacy amid polls that show him badly trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. His comments in the aftermath of the Orlando attacks - and his earlier criticism of a judge because of his Mexican heritage - have alarmed many in the GOP."

Spicer gonna spice: "Donald Trump bested 16 highly qualified candidates and received more primary votes than any candidate in Republican Party history," Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee's chief strategist and communications director, said in a statement posted on Twitter. "All of the discussion about the RNC Rules Committee acting to undermine the presumptive nominee is silly. There is no organized effort, strategy or leader of this so-called movement. It is nothing more than a media creation and a series of tweets."

Nevertheless ... "The RealClearPolitics poll average now gives [presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary] Clinton a lead of almost six percentage points over Trump, a marked shift from a month ago," the Post's Dan Balz writes. "Perhaps even more telling is that every poll on the RCP list that was conducted entirely in June showed Clinton leading. That's a change from May, when several polls showed Trump leading narrowly. Given the terrible two weeks Trump has gone through, it is no surprise that the trend line also indicates that Clinton's lead is widening."

In related news: Amid the renewed contested convention hubbub heading into the weekend, the RNC announced Enid Mickelsen will chair the Rules Committee, which will gather the week before the convention in Cleveland. Mickelsen, an RNC committeewoman from Utah, also chaired the site selection panel that chose Cleveland to host the convention.

28 days until the convention ... And the setup crews are racing the clock to have Quicken Loans Arena ready in time. The RNC's Committee on Arrangements released this time lapse video over the weekend to show progress made in the first 36 hours following the Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.

"About 250 people will work inside the Q each day to ready the arena," cleveland.com's Mary Kilpatrick reports. "The Republican Party typically needs six to eight weeks to convert a space into the RNC convention floor." Because of the Finals, "the GOP only has four weeks - but officials have said they confident the Q will be ready in time for the convention."

How the Ohioans will party: "Ohio's delegation to next month's Republican National Convention has booked multiple prominent sites for its week in Cleveland," according to a draft event schedule obtained by cleveland.com's Andrew J. Tobias. Lynyrd Skynyrd will perform at an event honoring Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger. And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will host a party honoring Gov. John Kasich, the erstwhile presidential candidate.

Will Kasich do much more than that? Kasich, a prominent Trump critic, hasn't yet committed to a significant role at the convention, despite the fact that he's the host governor.

"What he does publicly will be focused on his vision of a Republican Party based on conservative principles that brings everyone together and gives all Americans a chance to rise," Kasich spokesman Chris Schrimpf tells the Columbus Dispatch. "It could be a combination of his own event or events done in partnership with another organization or group."

Ohio Dems rally around a rising star: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker - a potential running mate for Clinton - headlined an Ohio Democratic Party luncheon Friday in Cleveland.

Booker, reports cleveland.com's Robin Goist, "criticized Donald Trump for mocking a person with disabilities, his views on women and women's healthcare, [for] his rhetoric toward immigrants, and his comments on Judge Gonzalo Curiel and Sen. John McCain."

Another anti-Trump ad hits Ohio: Meanwhile, Priorities USA, a super PAC backing Clinton, is targeting the Buckeye State and other November battlegrounds with a new commercial that brands Trump as "dangerous" on foreign policy. You can view the 30-second spot here.

"Donald Trump brags about consulting himself on national security issues, says he loves war and claims to know more about ISIS than the generals do," Priorities spokesman Justin Barasky said Sunday. "These are disqualifying statements for someone who wants to be commander in chief and proof that Donald Trump is too dangerous to ever be president of the United States."

Split-ticket region? "Skip Hawk is Ohio's close political divide personified," the Associated Press reports from Columbiana County, a gateway to the state's Appalachian area.

"The 66-year-old retired foreman pondered his fall ballot options over a gravy-slathered breakfast at the Steel Trolley Diner recently and figured he'll probably pick Republican Donald Trump for president but local son Ted Strickland, a Democrat, in the race for U.S. Senate."

One to watch: Could Rob Richardson Jr., president of the University of Cincinnati's board of trustees, be gearing up to challenge Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley next year? The Cincinnati Enquirer's Jason Williams "continues to hear lots of chatter" about the possibility. And that, makes Richardson's role in the search for a new university president all the more consequential.

Thomas Suddes remembers George Voinovich: "Some people knew George Voinovich, mayor of Cleveland," Suddes wrote for his Sunday Plain Dealer column. "Others knew George Voinovich, devoted husband of ever-gracious Janet Voinovich. But George Voinovich, governor of Ohio, manager in chief - that was the George Voinovich I knew."

The week ahead: Clinton returns to Ohio on Tuesday to talk about the economy at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in Columbus. It's the same venue where President Barack Obama gave a September 2011 speech that helped set up the themes of his re-election campaign.

Also Tuesday, Trump meets with social conservative leaders in New York. Among those who will be in attendance: Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis.

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