No, a candidate does not need an early state “victory” to stay in. An outsider candidate just needs good showings in early states.
True. Jeb is the only one who needs early victories - because of expectations game.
“No, a candidate does not need an early state ‘victory’ to stay in.”
I agree, but it’s funny that this was not what Ted Cruz was saying about Jeb Bush just the other day. He said that historically the nominee has needed to win one of the first three states, and he wondered how Jeb would manage that. And now a week later his spokesperson is saying that his goal is top 3 in those same states.