US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is getting a taste of the “New York values” he derided in Iowa as Republicans turn to the next big US presidential contest in the home state of frontrunner Donald Trump.
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At this moment, it is hard to see either Trump or Cruz deferring to the other in a deal that would give one of them the needed delegates on subsequent ballots. Although Trump beat Cruz in that state on March 5, Cruz may end up with more delegates from Louisiana than Trump.
The field is more mixed among Republican women, among whom Cruz leads at 31 percent, with 29 percent for Trump and 26 percent for Kasich. The statewide victor will receive 17 of the state’s 71 delegates, while the 54 delegates elected among the 18 congressional districts can support any candidate they choose at the convention.
Kyle Cheney of Politico reports, “Indiana GOP insiders are working to engineer slates of delegates – three from each of nine congressional districts – that will turn their backs on Trump at a contested convention in July”.
That is a 40-point swing from Trump to Cruz, with Kasich being pretty much smack in the middle (but slightly closer to Trump).
The El Paso County Republican Assembly did a straw poll asking delegates who they preferred for president, Cruz won with 71% of the vote.
“I don’t think they’re real serious about Colorado”, Hammett said.
“Don’t be fooled. Ted Cruz can’t win the nomination outright”, says the TV ad slated to start playing Friday in New York City and Long Island, as well as upstate New York. “If we had a primary, yes, we would have done very well here”, said Trump senior adviser Alan Cobb. That means the media will also be paying attention to us.
Cruz has pushed to present himself as a “unity” pick for Republicans in opposition to Trump and argued again Thursday that he picked up 80% of the supporters behind Marco Rubio after the Florida senator dropped out.
The Colorado Republican Party says several versions of the list were distributed to all campaigns, so it’s possible the Trump campaign could have been referencing a previous list with outdated numbers.
There was concern about schemes to recruit shadow delegates who would not represent their declared candidates’ interests beyond voting for them on a first ballot in a deadlocked convention.
“It’s hard. We’ve got to win and we’ve got to win consistently”, Cruz said.
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Ted Cruz is picking up support in Colorado, where three newly elected delegates are Cruz favorites.
