GOP conservatives believed they had won the illegal immigration fight last year when congressional leaders embraced a deportation crackdown, but big-money donors are mounting a counterattack, saying the Republican Party must nominate a pro-legalization candidate if it is to win the White House in 2016.
In a recent call with reporters, Spencer Zwick, finance director for 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney — who took a particularly hard line on immigration and deportation — said the next standard-bearer must be like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who advocates a pathway to citizenship for most illegal immigrants.
“If someone wants to be taken seriously running for president, in my opinion, they need to be in a similar place,” Mr. Zwick said.
