Reince Priebus: "We've got some drama and intrigue" in the GOP
Ahead of Saturday's GOP primary debate in South Carolina, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus weighed in on the state of the presidential race, saying on "CBS This Morning" that the party would be ready to compete against the Democratic nominee come November.
"We've got some drama and intrigue going on in the Republican Party," Priebus said in an interview Friday. "But if you look at what's happening in the Democrat party, it is a complete and total trainwreck."
While some GOP contenders may "claw and fight" their way to the top, Priebus believes any one of the remaining candidates would fare well against a Democrat in the general election.
And when pressed about a charge from Donald Trump that the Republican establishment feared a Trump victory, the party chair shot back: "I'm not afraid of any one of these folks running for president."
"I think all of them could beat Hillary Clinton... or a socialist from Vermont," he said. He added that his party was "offering the American people a varsity squad of choices."
Priebus declined to comment on specific criticisms of the candidates' behavior, including Trump's recent profanity-laced speeches on the campaign trail. He said he wasn't in the business of "calling balls and strikes."
Of the race generally, he deemed the GOP to be "in a pretty darn good place."
Priebus said that the Republican Party was "going to unite behind whoever the delegates on the floor in Cleveland unite behind."
Still, he cautioned that it was still too early to crown a nominee.
"The stage on Saturday is going to be a lot smaller than it used to be," Priebus said, referencing the candidates who have withdrawn from the race after the results in Iowa and New Hampshire. "So I think things are starting to come into shape."
But February's nominating contests, he added, only "represents about 5 percent of the delegates." March, in contrast, represents "about 60 percent."