How Cruz Won the Weekend

Last week, we reported that Donald Trump had demoted campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and that his top lieutenant, Stuart Jolly, had moved on. Many saw this as a coup for new hires Paul Manafort and Rick Wiley, in an attempt to match Ted Cruz's sophisticated ground game and delegate wrangling operation.  So far, Manafort and Wiley are off to a rocky start. As Newsmax reports, Ted Cruz had a huge weekend, securing a majority of available delegates:


Ted Cruz pulled in more than half of the delegates up for grabs in Saturday's Republican meetings, putting himself closer to a contested convention win should voting reach a second ballot, but Trump may eclipse him with "Super Tuesday" victories across the Northeast this week. 

Cruz picked up at least 65 of the 94 delegates available, and may draw in even more once Kentucky's 25 delegates reveal who they will support, reports Politico. 

Cruz's winnings included:

Maine: 19 of 20 seats, losing one to Gov. Paul LePage, a Trump supporter;

Minnesota: Nine delegates in three districts;

South Carolina: One of three delegates with the other two going to an uncommitteed delegate and to a supporter of Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Utah: 36 out of 37 delegates, including Sen. Mike Lee, Gov. Gary Herbert and Reps. Mike Bishop and Mia Love. The other delegate, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, has not revealed who he backs.

Cruz has a sophisticated ground operation, but if he wants to make the credible case that he's a superior candidate to Trump at the RNC, he's going to have to muster a few more victories. Right now, Trump has major leads in California, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. If Cruz wants to be beat Trump, he'll need to start winning elections, and fast.

Source: Newsmax