Paul Manafort, charged with overseeing Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C. campaign office, admitted late Tuesday the Manhattan businessman’s performance in the Republican primary “exceeded” his expectations.
“Today was a giant leap forward,” Manafort, a long-time GOP strategist told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, noting record turnout numbers by conservative voters.
“The 90 or plus [delegates] we got today exceeded my base count in this state,” added Manafort, who stepped on with the campaign just three weeks earlier.
Trump, projected as the winner of the Empire State’s Republican primary, swept up nearly 60 percent of the vote. His finish was enough to give him the majority of delegates. Trump will receive 78 based on his current standing while Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who finished second, will be awarded two. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz finished third and will not receive any delegates.
Trump will be awarded an additional 14 delegates if he reaches 60 percent of all GOP votes in the primary.
Manafort would not share the campaign’s plan to reach 1,237 delegates before the July convention in Cleveland, but the strategist vowed to push Trump past that number by early June and has “several ways to get there.”
