After Indiana's fateful primary, it looks as though the possibility of a contested convention for the Republicans is a thing of the past. But, don't expect things on the right side of the aisle to die down any time soon. The impending Trump nomination could inspire just about anything. On Tuesday night, in fact, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz surprised the nation when he announced he was calling it quits. And at this point, it's only a matter of time before John Kasich — the candidate who only won a majority in his home state of Ohio — drops out of the race as well.
Trump won all of the Hoosier State's 51 delegates and over 53 percent of the vote. He also effectively foiled Cruz and Kasich's diabolical plan to essentially rig a contested convention. At the end of April, the two released joint statements explaining their ultimately ineffective divide and conquer strategy. By allowing each other to focus on campaigning in particular states, they hoped to keep as many delegates from Trump as possible.
As of Tuesday, however, his opponents' worst dreams came true when Trump's delegate count reached 1,047. Now, the candidate has to win just 190 more to ensure a GOP nomination. In separate interviews, both Trump and Cruz acknowledged that Indiana is a make-it-or-break-it state.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who initially refrained from supporting the anti-establishment candidate, has called upon the GOP to unite behind the billionaire. In the past, Trump criticized Priebus and the RNC for allegedly plotting to overturn the popular vote through a contested convention. The candidate repeatedly expressed frustration towards the convoluted nominee selection process.
It's a disgrace for the party. And Reince Priebus should be ashamed of himself. He should be ashamed of himself because he knows what's going on.
According to Reuters, however, Priebus has frequently spoken with Trump on the phone since the tiff began. By the looks of his tweets, it seems as though the Chairman himself has ruled out the possibility of a contested convention and has settled instead for the anti-establishment candidate.
As it stands, there are over 400 delegates left in the Republican race. California offers 172 of them and though Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota offer much less, they allocate their delegates in a winner-take-all manner. With Kasich being Trump's only remaining rival, the outcome is crystal clear. Even if the Ohio Governor managed to win every remaining delegate — which is impossible because many are allocated proportionally — he'd have a hard time surpassing even 700 delegates.
A Trump nomination is inevitable but there are still nine elections left for the GOP. Now that the Party's decision is nearly solidified, there's a chance that some Republicans will opt out of voting for Trump and choose Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders instead.
