Ted Cruz May Have Dropped Out At The Right Time

One week after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz suspended his presidential campaign, voters in Nebraska seem to have unilaterally rallied behind the GOP's presumptive nominee, Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Trump overwhelmingly — and expectedly — won the Cornhusker state's Republican primary, as Cruz didn't win any delegates in Nebraska. Although not surprising, the results seemed sure to squash any rumors that Cruz may reenter the race.

Since both Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich suspended their campaigns last week, Trump seemed the only viable option for primary voters in Nebraska. They probably would have supported Trump anyway, though. Exit poll data revealed on Tuesday that more than 60 percent of Republican voters made up their minds about which candidate support more than a month ago, back when both Cruz and Kasich were viable options. Since voters didn't overwhelmingly make up their minds in the last week, it would seem that Cruz and Kasich never really stood a chance of picking up delegates in Nebraska.

No matter the exit poll data, the vote count showed clearly that Trump saw the majority of support in Nebraska. As a result, he picked up all 36 of Nebraska's pledged Republican delegates. That total inched him ever closer to officially securing the party's nomination. Now that Cruz and Kasich have stepped out of the race, Trump is expected to reach the 1,237-delegate threshold that he needs with ease.

Cruz's failure to win any delegates comes as the former candidate signaled that he would consider reentering the race, if given a reason to do so. While speaking with conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday, Cruz suggested that he might reenter the race if he saw a viable path to victory. When he announced his campaign suspension last week, Cruz told a disappointed crowd in Indianapolis that he didn't see such path.

From the beginning, I've said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory. Tonight, I'm sorry to say, it appears that path has been foreclosed.

It makes sense, then, that Cruz would consider reentering the race if, and only if, he somehow found a viable path to victory. After all, he only suspended his campaign, meaning he technically remains a candidate for the financial purposes of the Federal Election Commission. As such, he can reactivate his campaign at any point.

After Tuesday's Nebraska primary, though, it doesn't seem like there will be much reason for Cruz to reactivate anything other than his keycard to the Capitol, where he'll likely finish out his term as a senator. Nebraska voters didn't only support Trump — they stood behind a candidate they had supported for some time. If it's a sign of what's to come, Nebraska's primary all but shut the former candidates, including Cruz, out of a comeback situation.