There were 11 state GOP party conventions this past weekend, and at almost every one, the #NeverTrump forces were shunted to the sidelines.  There was even some punishment doled out as the Nebraska GOP indirectly censured Senator Ben Sasse for his leading anti-Trump role.

Omaha World Herald:

U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse has carved out a name for himself on the national stage as a leader in the “Never Trump” Republican faction.

On the home front, however, the Nebraska freshman found himself rebuked Saturday by party loyalists upset at his call for a third candidate to arise and give conservatives such as himself an alternative to Donald Trump in the fall election.

Delegates at the State Republican Convention overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing Sasse’s call for a third candidate. They argued it would only help Democrats win the White House in November.

“If you support a third-party candidate, you are going to elect Hillary Clinton, and she is going to nominate the next three or four members of the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Pat McPherson, an Omaha Republican.

At other state conventions, the anti-Trump forces were overwhelmed with calls for party unity.

Politico:

In Maryland, it meant the ouster of a veteran Republican committeeman — Louis Pope — by Citizens United chief David Bossie, a conservative activist who is close to Trump and closely associated with the rise of super PACs in American politics. Bossie has been a longtime ally of Trump and represents an early look at how Trump’s takeover of the party could reshape it for years.

In Arkansas, it meant packing the state’s national delegation with Trump allies and granting them influential leadership positions to shape Republican Party rules and policy doctrines at the convention.

Across the country, party leaders encouraged, coaxed and even browbeat their rank and file into a message of unity. And they did it by way of a consistent message: Trump is flawed, but Hillary Clinton would be far, far worse.

Oklahoma and Montana conventions shared a common mantra: "United We Stand." In Montana, walls of posters interspersing Trump's "Make America Great Again" signs with campaign posters for Congressman Ryan Zinke and gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte reinforced the theme. In Wisconsin, local reports indicated that even former Trump critics were nudging their allies into backing the mogul.

That message carried over into the selection of delegates to the national convention. In all, nearly 400 were picked on Saturday at these 11 party meetings — about one in every six that will fill seats in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena in July.

The #NeverTrump movement had no chance once Cruz dropped out.  And with the third-party effort by Romney and his friends faltering badly, there wasn't much of a choice for these professional party men and women except to swallow hard and support the nominee.

Perhaps we should be more concerned about rank-and-file Republicans who say they will never vote for Trump.  They don't have the vested interest in the Republican party that the pros do, and appeals for unity might not resonate quite the same way.

For those die hard anti-Trump voters, I suspect most of them will stay home or not vote for president rather than pull the lever for Hillary.  The Clinton campaign is delusional if they think they will get a significant portion of the GOP vote.