Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally on August 5, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Darren Hauck/Getty Images

 

More than 70 Republicans signed an open letter urging Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus to stop funding Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and focus on getting down-ballot candidates elected instead.

“We believe that Donald Trump’s divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide,” the letter states.

“Only the immediate shift of all available RNC resources to vulnerable Senate and House races will prevent the GOP from drowning with a Trump-emblazoned anchor around its neck.”

Signatories of the letter, a draft of which was obtained by Business Insider on Thursday, include five former members of Congress —  former Sen. Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, and former Reps. Tom Coleman of Missouri, Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma, Christopher Shays of Connecticut and Vin Weber of Minnesota.

Almost 20 former Republican Party staffers and delegates included their names in the letter as well. The effort was organized by Andrew Weinstein, a prominent Trump critic who worked on Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign and who served as deputy press secretary for Newt Gingrich during his tenure as House Speaker.

“This should not be a difficult decision, as Donald Trump’s chances of being elected president are evaporating by the day,” the letter reads, before listing their grievances with the Republican nominee.

Recent polls have shown Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton with a double-digit lead over Trump among likely voters. But down-ballot Republicans in swing states, at least for now, are staying afloat.

In an appearance on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” Trump defended his own fundraising efforts.

“There’s no truth. I’m the one that’s funding. I’m the one that’s raising the money and other people are getting to use the money that I raised,” he said.

As reported by Business Insider