If those delegates hold to their informal promises, Trump could win most of Pennsylvania’s votes on the first round in Cleveland, said Charles Gerow, a conservative strategist also running to be a Pennsylvania delegate.
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The extraordinary 2016 race has tested American political tradition, with the Democratic and Republican parties taking their nomination battles deep into primary season.
That Cruz and Kasich have joined forces merely illustrates what a paper tiger the “Never Trump” movement has been.
His campaign chairman Chad Sweet confirmed to CNN that Cruz was vetting several potential vice presidential candidates, and that businesswoman Carly Fiorina, herself a former White House hopeful, “absolutely” was among them. He cut a big anti-Trump ad inveighing against the very notion of making “deals”. “They ought to vote for me”, he said at a Philadelphia diner on Monday. “They should vote for me”. OR votes on May 17. “They will FAIL!” he tweeted.
The governor himself brushed off the interest in the two campaigns’ sudden decision to map out a mutually beneficial course – and criticism that it was an inappropriate alliance.
The Trump campaign has said it is concerned that some openly anti-Trump party members were chosen as delegates to represent IN at the Republican convention even before the voting on May 3. Should Kasich voters shift as a bloc to support Cruz, he would win the state, and they would keep Trump from winning a few dozen critical delegates.
Pennsylvania seemed like more fertile ground for Mr Sanders because it looks somewhat like MI, a blue-collar state that his campaign won. He added that he simply agreed not to spend “resources” in Indiana. He said Trump would not be able to beat Clinton in November. “It is nearly embarrassing”, Clinton said.
“It’s going to come down to four to eight more years of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton or a different direction”. That’s been true for Kasich for weeks – he has no way of winning the delegates he would need to take the nomination, unless the convention goes to multiple ballots and delegates begin changing their mind.
Although Clinton and Trump look likely to score a clean sweep in the Northeast, Cruz, Kasich and especially Sanders will all have their fingers crossed for better-than-expected showings to peel away some delegates from the frontrunners.
Trump’s new chief adviser, Paul Manafort, met Thursday with top Republican officials and told them his candidate, known for his over-the-top persona and brashness, has been “projecting an image” and that “the part that he’s been playing is now evolving”. Others have said they will remain uncommitted.
“We have to work with these people”, he said.
“We’re going to a convention, it’s going to be an open convention”, Kasich said, denying anything unfair about the effort. Trump is set to receive 25 delegates, and Cruz is allotted 15 delegates.
Clinton “is the inevitable nominee now and the only question is at what point does she wrap up the magic number” of necessary delegates, Madonna told AFP. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, he said on ABC’s “This week”, “are bad role models”. Jeff Sessions, a Trump supporter, also referred to the move as “desperate measures”.
Cruz and Kasich’s maneuver was viewed as near-desperation.
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Hillary Clinton cast Donald Trump as out of touch with the United States while campaigning Monday in DE, arguing that the Republican front-runner flies into states, gives speeches and then returns to the lap of luxury without listening to voters’ problems.
