HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Ted Cruz conceded for the first time on Wednesday that his only path to the Republican presidential nomination is through a contested convention.
“What is clear, today, is that we are headed to a contested convention. Nobody is able to reach 1,237. I’m not going to reach 1,237 and Donald Trump is not going to reach 1,237,” the Texas senator said during a news conference.
“We’re going to arrive in Cleveland with me having a ton of delegates and Donald having a ton of delegates,” Cruz continued. “And, at that point it is going to be a battle to see who can earn the support of a majority of the delegates elected by the people. I believe we will have a tremendous advantage in that battle.”
The math and available delegates in the remaining primaries made that clear enough after front-runner Donald Trump’s landslide victory in his home state of New York on Tuesday. Only Trump can clinch a 1,237 delegate-majority in the remaining primaries. Cruz needs delegates to flip to him in a multi-ballot open convention.
But Cruz’s admission was noteworthy nonetheless. It foreshadows the Texan’s determination to carry the nomination fight to the mid-July convention in Cleveland and signals that the divisive Republican primary could continue for months.
Cruz acknowledged how crucial delegates are to his prospects by diverting from the campaign trail for a trip to southern Florida, where nearly 170 Republican National Committee members — who are also delegates — were gathered at a tony beachfront resort for a regular party meeting.
“I am happy to go where the grassroots are to ask for their support and answer their questions at any and all times,” Cruz said.
Trump leads in the hunt for delegates with 845, followed by Cruz at 559 and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 147. The Kasich campaign long ago was relegated to trying to win the nomination at the convention and remains convinced that the governor’s strong poll numbers versus likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton would sway delegates.
Kasich trails Trump and Cruz badly but finished second, ahead of Cruz, in the New York primary and is polling ahead of the senator in some mid Atlantic and northeastern states that vote next week on Tuesday.
But Cruz called Kasich a spoiler who is helping Trump, and practically mocked his opponent’s strategy.
So far, Kasich has only won the Ohio primary.
“John Kasich has no path whatsoever to the nomination,” Cruz said. “His plan apparently rests on losing 49 states, going to the convention and having all of the delegates say, the guy that lost every state in the Union except his home state — that should be our nominee. That quite simply is not going to happen.”
