FR Caucus discussion thread ping.
Results: 2016 04/07 on forum
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Cruz won 11 states:
ID, WY, UT, TX,
OK, KS, AL, ND,
IA, WI, ME.
He has roughly 505 to 517 delegates, 32-33% of committed delegates, which is enough to be a serious contender.
Trump won 20 states:
HI, NV, AZ, MO,
AR, LA, MI, IL,
KY, TN, MS, AL,
GA, FL, VA, NC,
SC, MA, VT, NH.
He has roughly 743 to 758 delegates, 47% of committed delegates, which makes him a strong front runner but not (yet) the winner.
John Kasich is a footnote in the race, with 143 or 144 delegates.
There are something like 108 to 114 unassigned delegates, and 186 to 188 delegates assigned to candidates who dropped out who could cross over to Trump, Cruz, or even Kasich.
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If Cruz gets ALL of the unassigned, plus the Rubio, Jeb, Carson, Fiorina, Huckabee, and Paul delegates, that would put him in the lead but still under 50%. Cruz cannot do it without the Kasich delegates too.
If Trump gets 32% of the unassigned, plus the same share of the Rubio, Jeb, Carson, Fiorina, Huckabee, and Paul delegates, that would put him over 50%. If Trump can’t even get 32% of those delegates, (1) he’s not the man I think he is, and (2) he doesn’t deserve the nomination. Include the Kasich delegates once they are no longer bound to the traitor, and Trump needs 21% of the non-Cruz delegates. It’s not being “stolen” from him if Trump doesn’t get over 50%; that just means he’s just not good enough at politics to close the deal.
Note: If assigned Trump delegates defect in the first round or even in later rounds but while Trump is still the front runner, then the nomination is being stolen from him. Trump needs to interact with his delegates, court them, build their loyalty, and in all respects work to make sure that doesn’t happen.