Donald
Trump's campaign got burned again Saturday in the hunt for loyal
delegates to the Republican national convention - this time on turf
where he'd recently trounced his rivals in primary elections.
With each delegate battle he loses, Donald Trump faces
likelier odds of walking into a national convention where a majority of
delegates opposes his nomination. | AP Photo
Donald Trump's campaign got burned again Saturday in the hunt for
loyal delegates to the Republican national convention — this time on
turf where he'd recently trounced his rivals in primary elections.
Though the mogul's campaign showed more muscle than ever in this
shadow primary, he walked away in defeat in Arizona — losing about 40 of
the 55 delegate slots that were up for grabs on the day. That's despite
a dominant primary win there on March 22 and a furious attempt by
supporters to guarantee the election of allies to the national
convention.
Instead, it was Ted Cruz who emerged with the bulk of support from
the state's delegates. Though all of Arizona's delegates are bound to
vote for Trump on the first vote at the national convention, most are
likely to flip to Cruz if Trump is unable to clinch the nomination.
And Cruz wasn't done racking up victories on Trump's turf. In
Virginia, where Trump beat Cruz by a two-to-one margin in a March 1
primary, Cruz's forces captured at least 10 of the 13 delegates on the
ballot. The Texas senator won 18 of 24 delegates in local Missouri
conventions, even though Trump won that state on primary day as well.
In all, Cruz won about 80 delegate slots on the day of the more than
170 up for grabs. Another handful went to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and
even Marco Rubio — who dropped out of the race on March 15 — scored
about seven supportive delegates. Another dozen haven't revealed who
they support yet.
It wasn't a totally lost day for Trump. The mogul scored strong
victories in Massachusetts delegate fights and held his own in Arkansas
and Alaska, showing an organizational strength that has escaped him in
dozens of state and local delegate battles so far. On the day, Trump
earned about 60 delegates, far fewer than the results of the state
primaries and caucuses dictated, but enough to stave off catastrophe.
Cruz's team is operating in a changing environment though. Trump has
scored overpowering victories in the last six primaries and appears to
be on a trajectory to clinch the nomination on a first ballot — when
most convention delegates are bound to vote based on the results of
state primaries and caucuses. That could render the hunt for loyal
delegates meaningless, and Trump's allies have been dismissing the
prospect of a contested convention in recent weeks.
Yet if Trump fails to post large victories in the next round of
primaries, Cruz's huge delegate hauls on what should be safe Trump turf
limit Trump's ability to compete at a contested convention. With each
delegate battle he loses, the mogul faces likelier odds of walking into a
national convention where a majority of delegates opposes his
nomination.
Trump helped his cause most in Massachusetts, where a well-organized
effort — aided by a cavalry of Trump supporters from New Hampshire —
scored 23 of 27 delegate slots for the New York billionaire. Trump's
campaign co-chairman there, state Rep. Geoff Diehl, said he hopes the
effort becomes a model for Trump going forward, and has turned the tide
against Cruz's delegate dominance.
"I think that this not only stops the narrative that Ted Cruz could
win on a second ballot ... but it also shows that Massachusetts
Republicans were certainly galvanized to go in the other direction and
win delegate slots from the other campaigns instead," Diehl said in a
phone interview. "That's a reflection of the galvanizing of republicans
not just in Massachusetts but in the country."
The Arizona loss, though, stung. Trump had earned about 14 of the
state's 27 local delegates earlier in the day, a result that had his
backers bullish about a strong overall haul from his southwestern
stronghold. But At least a handful of those supporters also appeared on
Ted Cruz's slate, raising questions about their loyalty. Gov. Doug Ducey
also appeared on Trump's slate but is considered neutral in the
contest.
A last minute push by state party leaders to aid Trump's efforts fell
flat, though, when the state convention selected 28 at-large delegates.
There, Cruz forces helped push through 26 anti-Trump delegates.
The rest of the day was a mixed bag for Trump, too. Delaware, where
Trump won about 60 percent of the vote on Tuesday, picked a slate of 13
state party activists whose loyalty is uncertain as they're not tied to
any particular candidate. In Arkansas, another strong Trump state, the
mogul earned six delegates to Cruz's four and Marco Rubio's two. And in
Alaska, where Cruz narrowly defeated Trump in March 1 caucuses, Cruz
picked up 12 delegates to Trump's 11, while Rubio scored five.
In South Carolina, where Trump won easily against a crowded field in
February, none of the three delegates elected Saturday are supporters.
Two are uncommitted, and one backs Cruz.
One of the South Carolina delegates, Tyson Grinstead, said he leans
toward backing John Kasich at the convention but noted that he's bound
to back Trump on a first ballot. And he's not so sure the mogul won't
clinch it immediately. Grinstead, a former political director for Sen.
Lindsey Graham, said he won a narrow fight, beating out several "heavy
hitters" — including Sally Atwater, the widow of legendary GOP
strategist Lee Atwater.
Sally Atwater told POLITICO she intends to pursue a statewide
delegate slot but isn't sure yet who she'll support in the race. "I
don't think the race would probably be like this if Lee was here," she
said. "He knew what was going on all throughout the country. It wouldn't
have taken him by surprise."
From NYC tabloid writers in the 1980s to campaign reporters now riding the Trump rollercoaster, POLITICO Magazine’s latest MEDIA ISSUE takes a look at the press’ role in the rise of GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
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