Updated

!--StartFragment-->

LAS VEGAS — For top Republicans who have labored to expand their party's appeal among Hispanics — and can't get elected without them — Donald Trump is becoming a big problem.

That was palpably evident Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the Republican presidential debate, when Gov. Brian Sandoval, who is neutral in the primary, and Sen. Dean Heller, who has endorsed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, sat for a joint interview with the Washington Examiner at the Venetian hotel and casino along the Las Vegas strip.

The two senior Nevada Republicans represent an ethnically diverse state where, next year, Hispanics will likely comprise approximately 20 percent of all voters, possibly more. And seven weeks before first votes are cast in Iowa, with Trump holding as the undisputed national Republican front-runner, Sandoval and Heller have a warning for their party: Unmitigated electoral disaster looms in 2016, at least out West, if the celebrity businessman from New York wins the GOP presidential nomination.

Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com