Sen. Ted Cruz is out-hustling Donald Trump and looks set to ensure many Arizona delegates will defect to him in a convention floor fight.
The Texas senator, who ever since Iowa has played a stealthy ground game in contrast to Trump’s chaotic populism, is taking steps to snatch the Republican presidential nomination from The Donald at the convention in July.
….
“Cruz, out of all the campaigns, has the most folks on the ground and has been the most organized,” Michael Noble, a Republican consultant in Arizona who is neutral, told the Washington Examiner on Friday.
“Trump has no real organization in Arizona,” added GOP strategist Sean Noble (no relation) in an email exchange. “Cruz will get most/all Arizona delegates on second ballot.”
….
In a telephone interview, Cruz’s top Arizona organizer, Constantine Querard, was cautiously optimistic about the progress his team was making in fielding delegate candidates that would be loyal to Cruz. That team includes Republican legislator David Livingston, the majority whip in the state House of Representatives.
Livingston said team Cruz is engaged in a furious round of phone calls, texts, emails and meetings as it attempts to place loyal delegates. The Phoenix-area Republican indicated that he would be thrilled with Cruz candidates winning 55 percent of the available delegate slots, but said the final results might be closer to splitting the delegation 50-50 with Trump. Flipping 29 of delegates out of 58, Livingston suggested, would be a major victory for Cruz.
….
The state GOP chairman, and the Republican National Committee man and woman lead the Arizona convention delegation. The remaining 55 delegates will be elected by grassroots Republicans from around the state in a series of local elections scheduled to occur over the next several days. Activists will formalize the slate in an election to be held on April 30 at the state GOP convention in Mesa.
….
- Discussion
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.