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This State Has The Most GOP Delegates Up For Grabs

by Andi O'Rourke

With the possibility of a brokered GOP convention looming, it's clear that ever delegate counts. So which state has the most Republican delegates? There is a pot of gold up for grabs in California, in the form of 159 delegates (excluding 13 superdelegates), but the race is most definitely not wrapped up yet. Each of California's 53 congressional districts gets three delegates, which are assigned on a winner-take-all basis at the district level. So whoever wins a district gets its three delegates. Though California is a progressive bastion, it's also a competitive state for the GOP, and it is highly conceivable that each of the remaining three candidates could walk away with at least a few delegates to their name.

Current polling out of the state suggests that Trump and Cruz are at a statistical tie, within the margin of error of each other. Polling from The Los Angeles Times / USC Dornsife says that Trump would take 36 percent of likely voters, Cruz 35 percent, and Kasich 14 percent. Cruz is doing well with evangelical voters in the Central Valley, while Trump is carrying the rest of the state. In Los Angeles County, they are tied.

Aggregated polling collected by The Huffington Post, however, shows that Trump is apparently the candidate with the most substantial momentum at this point. Whether he will be able to maintain his candidacy amid a spate of increasingly violent campaign rallies is another question.

According to some commentators, California hasn't played a large role in the GOP primary process since the last contested convention half a century ago, in 1964. The way delegates are allocated this year means it could offer Kasich the opportunity to pick up a district or two, for example. However, turnout will be key, as will be the GOP's ability to reach out to minority voters as well as members of the LGBTQ community, all of which have a sizable presence in the state and are also demographics that the GOP had trouble connecting with.

Wait until the middle of May for the candidates to make their way through the state. The GOP primaries will pivot to the West Coast then, with Oregon, Washington, and California voting in quick succession. California's Republican primary takes place on June 7.

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