“I can’t even describe the lunacy of him as our nominee. But reason has not applied to date in this race and my hopes are fleeting that it will ever surface,” lamented an Iowa Republican, who like all participants was granted anonymity in order to speak freely.

“Predictions of his demise keep not coming true,” added a New Hampshire Republican.

Asserted a South Carolina Republican, “Donald Trump being the GOP nominee is now within the realm of possibility.”

Twenty-two percent of Caucus Republicans said Trump had a 50-50 shot at becoming the Republican nominee; the same percentage said he had only a 30 percent chance. The rest of the respondents were divided, with the majority saying his odds were still less than 50 percent. But more than eight in 10 GOP respondents said those were better odds than they gave Trump a month ago.