The deal between Ted Cruz and John Kasich to give Cruz a head-to-head matchup in IN comes too late to sway several thousand votes.
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“I’m not sure it’s going to damage Donald Trump as much as they might think”, Cedarville University’s Director of Political Studies Mark Smith said on Monday. But the truce ends at the Washington state line.
That alliance had an uneven first day, with Kasich underplaying the deal and growing irritated when questioned repeatedly about it, while Cruz repeatedly volunteered that Kasich’s concession to “pull out” of IN was a major moment.
A total of 1,237 delegates are needed to win the nomination ahead of the Republican National Convention this summer in Cleveland. While the focus of the Republican presidential campaign shifts eastward to the NY primary, Cruz is pivoting west, where he is quietly trying to chip away at Donald Trumps lead in the race for convention delegates.
Donald Trump needs another big night Tuesday to stay on track to clinch the Republican presidential nomination by the end of the primaries.
Billionaire Charles Koch, a mega-funder for conservative causes, said in an interview Sunday with ABC’s “This Week” that the Republican candidates were “terrible role models” and did not see how he could support them. However, the OH governor can still get delegates here. But Cruz and Kasich hope to deny Trump on the first ballot, triggering further rounds of voting where party activists could potentially hand the GOP crown to someone else. They are awarded proportionally, so even the losers can get some, as long as they get at least 10 percent of the vote. He also slammed the two politicians and said that they have been in the system for many years but they’re still way behind him.
Asked Monday whether she needed to do more to gain Sanders’ support in the general election, she noted her loss in the 2008 Democratic primaries to Barack Obama.
But others, including Trump, said the gambit is politics at its worst.
Oregon’s Republican presidential primary is taking on a new look. It also shows the importance they attach to their efforts.
But Kasich said the agreement was not a “big deal”.
“I will beat Hillary Clinton”, Trump said.
The voting in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island follows an announcement by Trump’s remaining rivals that they are strategically campaigning in a bid to block him from earning a delegate majority.
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Neither can win enough delegates alone to secure the nomination before the convention, but each hopes to keep Trump short and force the delegates to negotiate a different choice.
