Washington(CNN) In February, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn bluntly said that a Donald Trump nomination could be an "albatross" to his Republican Party.
Wednesday, with Trump barreling toward the GOP nomination, Cornyn was singing a different tune.
"I think he could change the electoral map in ways we haven't seen before," Cornyn said when asked if he was worried about the Trump impact down-ticket. "This disrupts the usual Republican vs. Democrat, conservative vs. liberal paradigm, and I think we don't know how this will all play out. I think it will be OK."
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"You don't need to despair," the Texas Republican added with a laugh.
Donald Trump's rise
President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.
Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.
Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.
Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school.
Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.
Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.
Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.
Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
The Trump family, circa 1986.
Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.
Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.
Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.
Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump
has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."
Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.
Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.
Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.
An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."
A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.
Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate.
Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated.
Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005.
Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.
For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.
Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.
Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996.
In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa.
Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.
The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.
Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race.
Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people."
Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize,"
Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.
Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.
Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20.
Cornyn isn't alone. House and Senate Republicans are reluctantly coming to terms with the reality that the real estate mogul -- a man many feared given his unpredictability, questionable policy positions and lack of discipline on the campaign trail -- will likely be their party's standard bearer. Rather than fight it, a number of Republicans say, it may be time to embrace it.
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"Many of us who have expressed concerns are reconciling ourselves to the fact that in all likelihood he will be the eventual nominee," said Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, who backs Sen. Ted Cruz for president.
Ted Cruz's fellow lawmakers may decide his fate at an open GOP convention
After Trump delivered a foreign policy speech in Washington on Wednesday, some top Republicans were highly laudatory of the billionaire's positions, including Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who called the speech "very thoughtful."
Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a close ally of Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, said with a chuckle that the fact that Trump scares some world leaders could be a good thing for the United States.
McConnell says he spoke 'inartfully' about GOP nomination going to second ballot
"I did say to my staff that is somewhat of a welcome change," Corker said. "There is some good that comes with that."
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Senate Republican, said Thursday he'd do "everything in my power" to help Trump if he's the nominee.
"I think he can be great if he'll get serious about being president -- and I think he will," Hatch said. "He's a clever, smart guy who will want to be remembered for doing great things. I have a feeling he can make that transition."
Behind the scenes, the Trump campaign is trying to broaden support on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, senior Trump adviser Paul Manafort continued the latest in a round of weekly outreach meetings, sitting down with roughly 16 House Republicans just steps from the Capitol. Afterward, Rep. Mike Kelly, who voted for Trump in Pennsylvania's primary on Tuesday, said he has been hearing more favorable reviews of the businessman in recent days.
"I think on the floor, there's a lot stronger support for Donald Trump then people possibly imagine," Kelly said.
While many conservatives aren't ready to publicly endorse Trump, some privately admit that they don't want to criticize him and antagonize his supporters, whom they will need to turn out in November to retain control of Congress.
Rep. Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican who has endorsed Cruz, told reporters Wednesday that he's sympathetic to the concerns about Washington voiced by Trump backers.
Who's running for president?
Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, John Kasich, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders,
Businessman Donald Trump
announced June 16 at his Trump Tower in New York City that he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. This ends more than two decades of flirting with the idea of running for the White House.
"So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again," Trump told the crowd at his announcement.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has made a name for himself in the Senate, solidifying his brand as a conservative firebrand willing to take on the GOP's establishment. He
announced he was seeking the Republican presidential nomination in a speech on March 23.
"These are all of our stories," Cruz told the audience at Liberty University in Virginia. "These are who we are as Americans. And yet for so many Americans, the promise of America seems more and more distant."
Ohio Gov. John Kasich joined the Republican field July 21 as he formally announced his White House bid.
"I am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support ... because I have decided to run for president of the United States," Kasich told his kickoff rally at the Ohio State University.
Hillary Clinton
launched her presidential bid on April 12 through a video message on social media. The former first lady, senator and secretary of state is considered the front-runner among possible Democratic candidates.
"Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion -- so you can do more than just get by -- you can get ahead. And stay ahead," she said in her announcement video. "Because when families are strong, America is strong. So I'm hitting the road to earn your vote, because it's your time. And I hope you'll join me on this journey."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, announced his run in an email to supporters on April 30. He has said the United States needs a "political revolution" of working-class Americans to take back control of the government from billionaires.
"This great nation and its government belong to all of the people and not to a handful of billionaires, their super PACs and their lobbyists," Sanders said at a rally in Vermont on May 26.
Donald Trump's foreign policy: "America first"
"This is a way to give Congress and the Republican Party the middle finger," Labrador, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said of voting for Trump.
The comments reflect the hardening reality among Republicans on Capitol Hill that despite how unnerved many are about Trump, they realize they must recognize the will of GOP voters and get behind the businessman -- or risk seeing Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, as the next president. Moreover, many Republicans frankly fear that a messy nominating convention could be far worse than choosing Trump as their nominee.
Donald Trump's (short) road to the nomination
And also, a number of Senate Republicans simply refuse to support Cruz because they don't think he has much of a chance to win the nomination and are irked at the way he's treated his colleagues.
With Trump as their likely nominee, Rep. Thomas Massie, a libertarian Kentucky Republican, said many Republicans will need "counseling."
"These folks should start enrolling today," Massie said.
If Trump wins, 'we get creamed'
Of course, many Republicans are still wary or downright opposed to Trump. And some patently fear that Trump would be romped by Clinton, costing the GOP the House and the Senate in the process.
"If he's the nominee, we get creamed," said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a former presidential candidate who now backs Cruz. "We're going to get killed with women and Hispanics. It's going to be a wipeout."
Republicans shouldn't skip party convention, Paul Ryan says
Cruz is banking on next week's Indiana primary to reset the race, hoping a victory in the Hoosier State will help deny Trump the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination before the July convention.
"If he wins Indiana, it's over," Graham said of Trump.
Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who represents a Miami-area district, is one of the most endangered House Republicans in the country -- and he strongly opposes Trump.
"It's kind of sad that both parties are poised to nominate people that a majority of Americans reject," Curbelo said.
"No," Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, a Cruz supporter, said when asked if he could back Trump in the general election.
"Some of his ideas are fine," Amash said. "Others are terrible."
Said Rep. John Kline of Minnesota: "Certainly his tone, I find annoying to the very least."
But Kline added: "He's not my choice, but I'm going to support the nominee.
Better than 2008?
Right after Trump delivered his first major policy speech on foreign policy, House Speaker Paul Ryan was across town trying to court millennial voters at Georgetown University. Ryan continues to avoid weighing in on Trump, but when one young college Republican asked for advice on how to pick between two GOP candidates he didn't support -- Trump and Cruz -- Ryan said, "Look at the policies, not the person."
But Ryan has called on his colleagues to attend the GOP convention and unite behind the nominee, no matter who it is.
Similarly, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus group of conservatives, has been publicly neutral in the race. He told reporters the GOP race was "not over" with more states yet to vote, but also said that he would back Trump if he was the party's nominee.
Paul Ryan: GOP nominee will be chosen "fairly and transparently"
Jordan argued that his party's handling of immigration policy fueled the support for an outsider candidate like Trump, saying, "We disappoint them and they said 'enough, 'We've had it' and it's the one issue that I think started the whole Trump phenomenon."
Alabama Rep. Gary Palmer, who was elected in 2014, warned establishment Republicans not to dismiss the concerns of Trump supporters angry at Washington.
"We should be sitting down talking to these people who have been carved out of the system. You know our party talks about a big tent -- these people built the tent, and we forgot and they are the people coming out to vote for Donald Trump," Palmer said.
Yet no matter how much concern there is about Trump, some top Republicans say it could be a lot worse.
"It's hard for me to believe," said Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, "that it will be a lot worse than 2008 when we had two unpopular wars, a financial crisis 40 days before an election on our watch, an incumbent Republican president with 30% approval, two points higher than Richard Nixon the day he resigned."