Ted Cruz certainly seems to be dominating the race for Republican National Convention delegates. But while the media focused on his landslide Colorado win, Ted Cruz actually lost an important delegate battle in Michigan on the very same day.
On April 9th, Michigan, which went to Donald Trump earlier in the primary season, also held a statewide Republican meetup, and delegate selection was on the agenda.
According to attendees, Cruz made an attempt—similar to his overtures in Louisiana and Colorado—to control the delegate convention. But Michigan Republicans denied Cruz more than the share of delegates he won in Michigan’s primary. Trump came away with 25 loyalist delegates, also matching the number he won back in March. Cruz and Kasich both came away with 17 each.
Adding to Cruz’s falter, a last-minute alliance between Trump and Kasich loyalists kept the Cruz campaign from winning any of Michigan’s seats on the RNC credentials and rules committees. According to Kasich supporters, speaking to CNN, the Cruz and Kasich teams had originally aligned to keep Trump supporters from getting any of the coveted committee assignments. They offered a “compromise” slate of five Cruz supporters and three Kasich supporters for the eight open positions. When Cruz’s team decided to compete for all eight spots, leaving Kasich’s team out in the cold, Kasich’s team made an earth-shattering decision to ally with Trump.
Michigan’s delegates then selected one Trump and one Kasich supporter for the RNC rules committee, a 118-member committee that will meet ahead of the RNC to establish the convention process. Each campaign received three spots on the credentials committee, which will help the RNC ensure proper delegate credentialing and procedure.
While the story fell by the wayside over the weekend, the Trump-Kasich alliance represents an interesting shift in campaign dynamics. Trump and Cruz need to be allied to deny Kasich a chance at being on the ballot in Cleveland—if the convention is brokered and the nomination vote goes to a second round. But if more conventions begin to sour, a lasting Trump-Cruz alliance, even just for the RNC rules committee, seems less likely.
Cruz’s success at re-configuring conventions to bend to his will has been largely attributed to his campaign’s organization. But he is getting some help on the delegate front from Republican donors. The anti-Trump Our Principles PAC has been taking thousands of dollars in donations from big GOP donors—even ones who have stood apart from the nomination process itself— in an effort to keep Trump from clinching the Republican nomination. Our Principles PAC, however, has no allegiance to Ted Cruz, and will likely not support the Texas senator once the convention is anybody’s game.
Although still visibly strong, Cruz’s campaign may hit more than the expected number of roadblocks on the way to Cleveland. He may have grabbed Colorado, but it’s unlikely his competition for the GOP nomination will go down without a fight.