Ignoring polls, John Weaver of the Kasich campaign said on Sunday Donald Trump is not favored by Republicans.
“Donald Trump doesn’t have the support of a majority of Republicans—not even close, but he currently does have almost half the delegates because he’s benefited from the existing primary system,” said Weaver. “Our goal is to have an open convention in Cleveland, where we are confident a candidate capable of uniting the Party and winning in November will emerge as the nominee. Due to the fact that the Indiana primary is winner-take-all statewide and by congressional district, keeping Trump from winning a plurality in Indiana is critical to keeping him under 1,237 bound delegates before Cleveland. We are very comfortable with our delegate position in Indiana already, and given the current dynamics of the primary there, we will shift our campaign’s resources West and give the Cruz campaign a clear path in Indiana.”
Trump adviser to Cruz surrogate: Release transcript of discussion with John Kasich campaign https://t.co/azi8jDaD1w https://t.co/MzGwXna2KH
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) April 25, 2016
The anti-Trump saboteurs are placing most of their chips on the May 3 contest in Indiana and parceling out others in the West. “Our campaign will focus its time and resources in Indiana and in turn clear the path for Gov. Kasich to compete in Oregon and New Mexico, and we would hope that allies of both campaigns would follow our lead,” Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe said on Saturday.
By the Numbers
Last week WTHR/Howey Politics released a poll showing Trump leading Cruz in Indiana by at least six points. A Fox News poll put the lead at eight points.
Indiana has an open primary. Voters are not required to register with a party, but state statutes stipulate that citizens vote in the primary of the party they have voted for most often in the past, a requirement that is difficult if not impossible to enforce.
On Monday, Trump weighed in on the Cruz-Kasich tag team effort. “Did you see the news today, where they band together? Where they collude? It’s collusion,” Trump told his supporters at a rally in Warwick, Rhode Island, where he enjoys a 29.3% spread.
“If you collude in business … they put you in jail. But in politics … you’re allowed to collude,” he added.
Ted Cruz and John Kasich are openly working together to bring Donald Trump downhttps://t.co/6gyQv859O8
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 25, 2016
Trump said the underhanded effort to diminish his lead and ensure a contested convention “shows how weak they are, it shows how pathetic they are.”
Over the weekend, GOP apparatchiks handed Cruz more delegates—19 of 20 seats available in Maine (the only holdout was Gov. Paul LePage, a Trump supporter), nine delegates in three Minnesota congressional districts, one in South Carolina, and 36 of 37 delegates in Utah caucuses.
Despite GOP delegate fixing in opposition to the will of voters, Trump is poised to roll over both Cruz and Kasich tomorrow in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island—a total of 78 delegates.
The New York primary represented a serious blow to the Republican anti-Trump effort. He picked up 89 delegates while Kasich grabbed 4 and Cruz zero.
Neocons Dream of a Third Party with Mitt and Marco
Meanwhile, the neocon branch of the Republican party, led by Bill Kristol, has released a short list of third party candidates he says may run if Trump takes Indiana, as projected, and finalizes the nomination in July. Candidates include Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio (the neocon favorite), and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. Kristol “spitballed” a menagerie of other candidates over the weekend, all destined to be losers in a general election against Trump and Clinton:
Just spitballing here. Lots of varieties of indie tickets: Centrist: Mattis-Rhee. Young: Sasse-Kinzinger. Conservative: Gen. Kelly-Cotton.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 23, 2016
More spitballing: Some more possible independent tickets: Pompeo-Willett; Abbott-Haley; Fiorina-Tim Scott; Kyl-Lieberman; Romney-Rubio.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 23, 2016
The RNC has condemned the effort, saying it would destroy the party.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!