WASHINGTON -- Top Republican strategists this past week have stepped up a frantic effort to lay the groundwork for a third-party presidential run, even as elected officials within the party begin to make their peace with Donald Trump.

The effort is admittedly a long shot, according to aides directly involved in it. But they insist it's not as impossible as some members of the GOP and the press perceive it to be. In particular, these aides have begun exploring the idea of suing states over their deadlines for ballot access so they can be afforded more time to field a candidate and gather signatures. Additionally, they are discussing the possibility of launching an entirely new political party rather than latching onto an existing one, since doing so would provide easier passageways for getting on the ballot.

"The ballot deadlines are doable, avoidable or hackable," said Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican operative who has turned his Twitter feed into a loathe-fest of Donald Trump .

"This is real. There is an actual pathway here," he said. "I think we will know in the next week to 10 days [if this can work], and I think the probability is higher than most people think."