Posted on 04/27/2016 5:11:01 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
Despite landslide victories on Tuesday, Donald Trump still needs to win Indiana — and he’s starting to act like it.
The frugal Manhattan mogul has begun opening his wallet for the air war, spending more than $900,000 on TV and radio ads. He’s working the inside game, wooing Gov. Mike Pence one-on-one in what multiple Indiana insiders said appears to have been a successful effort to keep the governor on the endorsement sidelines. And Trump’s new campaign strategist Paul Manafort has been telling Republican officials, multiple people told POLITICO, that Trump is in the midst of doubling the ground team there, with plans to balloon his in-state operation to 40 people.
The sudden infusion of operatives, cash and attention is a sign of Indiana’s fulcrum position in the Republican primary fight. Trump can’t win the nomination there. But it’s where he could lose it.
A 40-person state operation would be one of Trump’s most notable investments in a field program of the cycle. And Manafort clearly has an interest in proving to GOP insiders that his candidate is willing to fund a more robust campaign operation, both to lock up the nomination and to demonstrate that he’s ready to do what it takes to win a general election expected to cost each side more than $1 billion. But sources close to the campaign cast doubt on Manafort’s closed-door claims about Indiana, asserting he was exaggerating both the current head count and the planned one.
That said, there still may be some accurate info in the story.
Ping
Seen on TV that Cruz campaign and #nevertrump were each spending 2 million dollars. Don’t know if that changes after last night. I would think, like Jeb!, the money is drying up.
Trump won every county in all 5 states last night. He won all but one county in SC, and FL. I suspect Trump has a much better ground operation than anyone thinks, because to win every county in 5 states on the same night is almost impossible to even comprehend. Cruz won WI (his last real win), but Trump won most of the counties, with Cruz taking the major cities. Look at the dem result maps, Sanders takes the outlying counties, and Clinton takes all the population centers.
I like it.
I wouldn’t doubt that Trump is doubling efforts in Indiana. Based on his schedule today....it seems he will not be satisfied with 1237....he wants 1400.
Good news bump...beating Cruz here should be the knockout punch to his campaign and keeping Gov. Pence and his organization on the sidelines will help that effort.
#NeverTrump = Hillary Clinton
The Collaberators really messed up strategically. After Cruz’s complete humiliation in those five states, I’d think he’ll have a hard time getting new voters. The best he can do is keep as many on board as he can. And now KSick isn’t advertising in an adjacent state? Cincinnatti and Dayton are practically in Indiana, for heaven’s sake. There wasn’t any KSick spillover into PA, he isn’t campaigning in Indiana, he got mauled in Michigan, how can he still be taken seriously?
These lines along show how misleading the narrative has become. All the networks agree, even Limbaugh and Levin must agree, that if Trump wins Indiana, it is over for NeverTrump.
I have Trump finishing with 1247 after last night. I’ve not been able to add any PA delegates beyond the 17 that were voted on.
I have him getting most of Indiana’s delegates as the current poll front-runner, and while Indiana is a winner take all state, it is actually winner take all at 2 levels: state level delegates and congressional level delegates.
“I’ve not been able to add any PA delegates”
Last number I heard was 34 delegates that either pledged to Trump or pledged to whoever won the CD.
Is that correct? Neither Cruz nor Kasich won as much as 1 county in all 5 states?
That's amazing.
Part of the answer is that (generally) rural people are wiser than city people.
Put it this way, if Trump wins Indiana, then he will get very close to 1237 on June 7, only needing a handful of uncommitted delegates, if that.
He needs more than 1237, in order to forestall any games by the GOPe, like turncoat delegates, Trump delegates refusing to cast a vote or not showing up, delegates changing the rules, etc.
If he has just barely enough delegates, the GOPE might try stuff. If he has much more than 1237, they're less likely to.
Trump just needs an ad showing Cruz calling a basketball hoop a ‘ring’. That alone should win Indiana for The Donald.
Accurate or not, it’s time for Trump to deliver the coup de grâce to the Cruz/Kasich campaign.
He juso have Bobby Knight needs to go to as many events as possible.
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