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Three GOP challengers take roadshow to pro-Trump Tennessee

Republican presidential candidates Bill Weld, left, Mark Sanford and Joe Walsh, right, take part in a forum at Politicon Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Three Republican longshots challenging President Donald Trump in 2020 made a roadshow stop in the liberal-leaning capital of pro-Trump Tennessee.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois drew a sparse crowd Saturday at the Politicon conference in Nashville. The event attracted several hundred people in a room with more than 2,000 seats.

The three disagreed on the impeachment inquiry. Weld and Walsh expressed support for impeachment. Sanford said a censure could be a better option, contending that a likely acquittal in the GOP-led Senate could benefit Trump politically.

Each is opposing decisions by several states to cancel 2020 GOP presidential primaries, a move that’s not unusual for the party of the White House incumbent seeking reelection.