The
importance of Pennsylvania and its 54 free-agent delegates
The
Pennsylvania Republican primary has two different primaries -- (Donald Trump
vs. Ted Cruz vs. John Kasich), and (the fight for the state's 54 free-agent
delegates). Indeed, it's that second primary that very well could determine
whether or not Trump reaches the 1,237 delegates needed to win the GOP
presidential nomination. Here's how Pennsylvania's delegate allocation works:
17 delegates are awarded to next week's Republican winner, and Trump is leading
his GOP rivals by double digits in the Keystone State, according to a new
Franklin & Marshall poll. But the state's other 54 delegates will be elected
on the ballot -- with no clue to voters whom they might support at the
convention -- and they will act as free agents heading into July's GOP
convention. How big of a deal is Pennsylvania's delegate-allocation system? The most he can get from a big win (at least
on Primary Day) is 17 delegates. And how many of those 54 unbound delegates
Trump can convince to vote for him could be the difference between reaching
1,237 on that first convention ballot and missing it.
Good
news, bad news for Trump when it comes to these 54 delegates
The
good news for Trump is that he has a real chance to win over a solid number of
these 54 unbound delegates. Earlier this month, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reached out to
the 162 candidates running to be an unbound delegate, and the newspaper found
that a good chunk of them said they'd vote for whoever wins the congressional
district. Also, NBC's Leigh Ann
Caldwell reports that Trump is arguably running the most active
campaign for these delegates. "John Schnaedter, chair of the Allegheny
Republican Party in southwest Pennsylvania, said that delegate contact from the
Trump team began early. None of the
campaigns have reached out to us other than Trump's,' he said." The bad
news for Trump is that these people could change their mind. "The Cruz
campaign is pushing a slate of Cruz-loyalists for 26 of the 54 unbound slots up
for the taking. It says others eligible on the ballot to become delegates,
particularly longtime state activists able to win on their name alone, have
committed to Cruz as well. Cruz has personally met with several of the
potential delegates." Here's where the overall GOP delegate race stands:
Trump
holds a 286-delegate lead over Cruz
