Quote:
Originally Posted by Solecismic
At some point, this race has to be a two-man race, and while it won't be easy to overcome Trump's lead, the argument that he isn't second on many people's lists still resonates.
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That argument still appears to be true, but I'm not convinced that it even matters mathematically. RNC rules say that all contests prior to 3/15 must be "proportional," but I don't think that word means what people think it means--at least not in this case. (See: 32.5% of the votes in SC = 100% of the delegates.) I'm not sure that if both Carson and Kasich dropped out today and endorsed Rubio* that it would make enough difference. Giving Texas to Cruz--and even that doesn't appear to be a lock--we're talking about a candidate who looks poised to win 9-12 out of 13 states on Super Tuesday. We're talking about a candidate who has led the polls from wire to wire. We're talking about a candidate who has finished 2nd/1st/1st/1st in the four contests to date, and whose momentum is
increasing. We're talking about a candidate who said that Mexico sends criminals over here and
who won the Hispanic vote 44-29-18 over dudes named Rubio and Cruz last night.
We're talking about the presumptive nominee. I don't see how we can say anything else at this point.
*-- Kasich's swipes at Rubio yesterday certainly don't indicate a candidate who is about to strike a deal with him, and of course neither Kasich nor Carson is going to endorse Cruz as long as Rubio is still in the race.