Ted Cruz Wins In Texas, But It's Not Enough

On Tuesday night, the Republican Party's slow rolling nightmare continued, with frontrunner Donald Trump cleaning up seven states, compared to just three for Ted Cruz and one for Marco Rubio. But all the same, the couple of states for Cruz ― his home state of Texas and Oklahoma ― did help build his tidy little collection of delegates heading towards the Republican national convention. And that's basically what the race is all about now: scrape together enough delegates to deny him the majority he needs. So, how many delegates did Ted Cruz win on Super Tuesday?

It was quite a haul compared to where he started, although it's got to be cold comfort compared to where Trump is in the standings. Heading into Tuesday, Cruz was in possession of 149 delegates, compared to Trump's 274. He did massively improve his own share of the delegates, however, as The New York Times' Super Tuesday tracker details, netting (at of early Wednesday morning) another 144 for the pile.

So, there you have it! A win in Texas, a win in Oklahoma, a win in Alaska, and competitive finishes in states with proportionally awarded delegates made for 144 total Super Tuesday delegates for the Texas arch-conservative, who now has a total of 161 delegates. By way of contrast, Trump claimed 203 delegates, and Rubio picked up a mere 71.

Unfortunately for the Republican Party apparatus, however, the delegate math doesn't get any easier for Cruz or Rubio from here on out. Rubio has just one more chance to assert himself as a serious contender, or even just as somebody who has a reason to still be in the race ― if he can't win his home state of Florida on March 15, he's all but done. Cruz, on the other hand, just mounted his home state last stand, and he did so successfully.

But that only means that there aren't anymore home field advantages around the corner, and up against a huge night for Trump, and the billionaire businessman's strong position in the polls, it's awfully tough to spin what transpired on Tuesday night as a win for the Cruz camp. While giving his victory speech in Texas, Cruz proudly bellowed that his was the campaign that beat Trump, "once, twice, three times!" Unfortunately, Trump's also dusted Cruz a staggering 12 times, and a 3-12 record is nothing to brag about, whether in sports or politics.

Fortunately, we won't have to wait much longer to find out who'll rise and who'll sink. The next day of voting for the GOP comes on March 5, with the Louisiana primary, and caucuses in Kansas, Kentucky, and Maine. March 15, on the other hand, will be Rubio's day of reckoning, the monumental Florida primary, with 99 delegates on the line in a winner-take-all.