The defeat of #NeverTrump

It's now or never for #NeverTrump. A contested Republican convention where the front-runner could lose the nomination is no longer in the cards. He's now the presumptive nominee, weeks sooner than most expected.

The focus has now shifted to a conservative or independent third-party candidacy. Supporters claim the campaign infrastructure and funding is in place. There's just one problem: As deadlines loom, no candidate has bitten.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Every time a name is floated in the press, the prospective candidate quickly says he is not interested. Mitt Romney, who has at times sounded like a candidate, has so far been willing to only help recruit one. Time is running out.

Republican strategist Rick Wilson has been one of the most indefatigable anti-Trump conservatives. He was working against the billionaire while most party donors sat on the sidelines. He regularly tangles with Trump Twitter trolls online. He remains characteristically defiant.

"Obviously, we don't have forever to put this thing into position, but we still haven't reached the structural deadlines yet," Wilson told theWashington Examiner. "None of us have ever been unrealistic about how difficult of an assignment this is to put together a candidate on such short notice, especially as the D.C. establishment is rolling over and becoming the Vichy Republicans we all knew they would."