Ted Cruz and John Kasich are ready to put a full stop to Donald Trump’s campaign. Late Sunday night, the two presidential contenders announced they are teaming up to deny the businessman delegates – a rare move in American politics. In the agreed to terms, Cruz will cede Oregon and New Mexico, while Kasich will pave the way for Cruz in Indiana. As you can imagine, Trump was not silent on the matter. Five more states, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware, will make their mark on the 2016 election on Tuesday, with 172 delegates at stake. Christine has an in-depth preview here.
Republican Primary
Donald Trump: Trump used the word “desperate” to describe the announced Cruz-Kasich alliance on Monday. He may not need to worry too much about his opponents uniting against him though – at least not this week. Trump currently has a double-digit distance between his two opponents in all of Tuesday’s five contests. The Indiana primary, however, to be held on May 3, is a bit more competitive. Trump is ahead of Cruz in the Hoosier State by just 5 points. Perhaps to avoid more poor results in state conventions, the Trump campaign is reportedly going to start courting delegates at the upcoming conventions in California and Virginia.
By the way, Trump now refers to be called “Wonderful Donald.”
Ted Cruz: During a campaign stop in Indiana Monday, Cruz made himself very clear as to why he is teaming up with Kasich to stop Trump’s path to the nomination. “If Donald Trump is the nominee, Hillary wins,” Cruz said. The Texas senator also said it’s “abundantly clear” no candidate is going to reach 1,237 delegates and that Trump will be in trouble at a contested convention. Before agreeing to terms with the Kasich campaign, Cruz gained dozens of delegates over the weekend in Maine, South Carolina, Minnesota and Utah.
John Kasich: Kasich is no longer the only candidate without a Trump nickname. On Monday, the frontrunner dubbed the governor “1 for 38 Kasich,” in a nod to the only primary contest the Ohio governor has won so far in the 2016 race. Kasich is still gaining endorsements, however, including the editors of The Baltimore Sun, who argued that he is the only candidate who can attract independents and Democratic voters. Kasich ate breakfast in a Philadelphia diner Monday morning, where he told reporters that his allegiance with Cruz is "no big deal."
Democratic Primary
Hillary Clinton: A few unfortunate pieces of Clinton-related news surfaced over the weekend. The longer she refuses to release her Wall Street transcripts, the more reports come out about how she wanted thousands of dollars and other lavish demands for those controversial speeches. Elsewhere in the media world, the DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz admitted that Clinton’s use of a private server as secretary of state was certainly not something her predecessors had done. Laughably, in the same interview, Schultz tried to argue that Clinton is the most transparent presidential candidate ever. On the campaign trail, Clinton praised a voter for asking her to use executive power to enforce more gun control. Meanwhile, with a new executive order, Gov. Terry McAuliffe shored up the felon demographic for Hillary in November. She also received a tepid endorsement from…Charles Koch.
Bernie Sanders: Sanders is behind in most of Tuesday’s contests, but Connecticut is looking tight and he is actually ahead of Clinton by a few points in Rhode Island. Pundits already see this week as the end of the road for the passionate progressive, but Sanders and his young supporters have certainly made their mark in the Democratic Party and they are not likely to leave the establishment alone after the election.
Primary Schedule
Tuesday - D/R primaries in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware
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