Ohio Governor John Kasich claimed a victory in his home state on Tuesday night as Donald Trump swept Florida, North Carolina and Illinois, claiming a large number of delegates on the way.
A win for Trump in Ohio would have left him with an even wider lead heading towards the Republican National Convention (RNC) in the summer, but Kasich's win, giving him 66 delegates in a winner-take-all contest, keeps his campaign alive.
That increases the possibility of a brokered convention, and given that Kasich's path to winning the nomination outright is very difficult now, it appears to be something that the Ohio Governor is banking on.
That is something that neither the Trump campaign or Ted Cruz's campaign wants to see happening, given that opening up the floor like that will make life difficult for their candidates who are not well like by the Republican Party's elite.
In order to avoid a fight on the floor, both campaigns stated their intentions to block Kasich from the convention, given that he has only won the majority of votes in one state so far, and looks as though he will fall short of the eight necessary to be eligible for nomination.
Speaking to Politico, Saul Anuzis, who is working on the Cruz campaign, stated that the "there is virtually zero chance he can be nominated, it's a two-man race".
Barry Bennet, who is formulating Trump's strategy for the convention, told the same publication that "the Cruz folks would never allow the rules to be changed and of course we wouldn't either. The laws of math are not amendable."
At the time of writing, a very tight race is still unfolding in Missouri, where Trump leads Cruz by an estimated figure of 40.8% to 40.6%, with 99% of districts reporting.
Speaking on the night, Cruz refused to acknowledge Kasich's chances of getting involved in the race.
Despite not claiming the majority of votes in any state available on the night, Cruz told his supporters in Missouri, stating that it was a good night and that "we continued to gain delegates and continued our march to 1,237", the number needed to secure the nomination.
Image: Kiichiro Sato / AP/Press Association Images
With Marco Rubio suspending his campaign after a loss in his home state of Florida, Cruz praised his efforts and called on his supporters to unite behind his campaign to stop Trump, stating that they would be welcomed with open arms.
Undeterred by the difficult path ahead, Kasich told his supporters in Ohio on Tuesday night to "forget the politics, forget the pollsters forget all the focus groups, because, you see, I represent you. It is my job to look at these situations and these problems and to listen to you. And then it's my job to go and fix them, and if that means at times that I have to take some heat, then that's just the price of leadership in America".
Via Politico
