It might already be too late, but Donald Trump’s Republican primary opponents are now openly collaborating in an effort to prevent the loudmouthed billionaire from winning the party’s nomination.
The Ted Cruz and John Kasich campaign released statements late Sunday outlining the strategy for the remaining primary elections. The Cruz campaign will focus time and resources on Indiana (May 3), where he has the best chance of beating Trump, while Kasich will focus on the Oregon (May17) and New Mexico (June 7) primaries.
The dual statements from Cruz and Kasich camps, with their coordinated strategy to try to prevent Trump from 1,237. pic.twitter.com/NJaCWi8IGP
— Matt Viser (@mviser) April 25, 2016
It is mathematically impossible for either Cruz or Kasich to win the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination outright. Trump currently has 845 pledged delegates.
The goal is to keep Trump from getting close to that number of delegates heading into the GOP convention in Cleveland, and to deny him a sense of inevitability.
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That may be easier said than done. Trump is likely to increase his delegate lead with victories in five northeastern states on Tuesday—the so-called “Acela primary.” A total of 172 delegates will be up for grabs when voters in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island head to the polls.
Polling in Indiana suggests a close race between Trump and Cruz, and Kasich’s decision to essentially pull out of the state will certainly help Cruz. However, early voting in Indiana began weeks ago and the numbers are significantly higher than in previous years.
That is likely a bullish indicator for Trump. It also means some Kasich supporters have already locked in their vote. Trump opponents will certainly welcome the coordination between Cruz and Kasich, but will leave many wondering: Is it too little, too late?
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Trump responded to anti-Trump campaign alliance exactly as you would expect him to.
“Collusion is often illegal in many other industries and yet these two Washington insiders have had to revert to collusion to stay alive,” Trump said in a statement. “They are mathematically dead and this act only shows, as puppets of donors and special interests, how truly weak they and their campaigns are.”
Inbox: @realDonaldTrump responds to @tedcruz & @JohnKasich colluding in upcoming primaries pic.twitter.com/N7bzbQGtM1
— Alex Hanson (@theAlexHanson) April 25, 2016
Trump also shared some thoughts on Twitter:
Wow, just announced that Lyin' Ted and Kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the Republican nomination. DESPERATION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2016
Lyin' Ted and Kasich are mathematically dead and totally desperate. Their donors & special interest groups are not happy with them. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2016
Will the Cruz-Kasich alliance pay off? Maybe. It could also reinforce Trump’s primary grievance that the establishment has rigged the system against him.
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UPDATE: The “plan” doesn’t seem to be going so well.
Kasich just said Indiana voters should vote for him. He's just not spending resources in the state. Deal already falling apart?
— Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) April 25, 2016
Kasich, asked whom his supporters in Indiana should vote for: "I've never told them not to vote for me. They ought to vote for me."
— Thomas Kaplan (@thomaskaplan) April 25, 2016
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