http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/trump-adopts-cruz-playbook-delegate-hunt Trump adopts Cruz playbook in delegate hunt
04/26/16 07:26 AM
By Jane C. Timm
Donald Trump says the electoral delegate allocation is “rigged” and rival “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz is trying to steal the election away by wooing supporters.
“Then you’ll read in these papers, like the Washington Post, Trump with the dele—“ he said before interrupting himself on Monday in West Chester, Pennsylvania, shifting to promise a “revolt” if he doesn’t win the nomination. “We don’t even send people! Because we want to win the right way on the first ballot!”
But in Pennsylvania, where 54 unbound delegates are elected directly by district and free to vote as they wish, Trump is employing the same hunting playbook Cruz has used for weeks. Hate the player, not the game?
Trump insists he can reach that key number – 1237 delegates – by winning the pledged delegates awarded in primaries, but his team is nonetheless on the ground working to sway the unbound delegates his rivals hope to use to derail him. In interviews with eleven of the 41 delegate candidates on the Trump slate, Pennsylvania Republicans running for those 54 spots describe a campaign strategy that’s looking more and more like the Cruz game plan every day.
NBC News reported last week that his team was debuting a newer, more aggressive strategy in Pennsylvania, seemingly aiming to make up for lost time in the hunt for unbound delegates after struggling to sway them away in states like Colorado and North Dakota. Delegate candidates say they were vetted and courted by the campaign in phone calls and emails, but in recent weeks, they’ve begun receiving invitations to campaign rallies – including one in Pittsburgh in mid April and one in Harrisburg on Thursday – and they’ve been promised robocalls and paid advertisements.
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