Texas senator’s win complicates Trump’s quest for GOP delegate majority

MILWAUKEE (CFP) — U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas easily defeated Donald Trump in Wisconsin’s Republican presidential primary, complicating Trump’s quest to get to the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the GOP nomination outright.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz

Riding a wave of conservative and establishment opposition to Trump, Cruz took 48 percent in the April 5 vote, compared to 35 percent for Trump and 14 percent for Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Perhaps more importantly, Cruz took 36 of the 42 delegates up for grabs in the Badger State, compared to just six for Trump.

Speaking to his supporters in Milwaukee after his victory, the Texas senator hailed the result as a turning point in the campaign.

“Tonight, Wisconsin has lit a candle guiding the way forward,” Cruz said. “Tonight is about unity, and tonight is about hope.”

Trump did not speak after the results came in, but his campaign released a statement calling Cruz “a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump.”

Cruz’s win in Wisconsin was his ninth of the campaign season and his second in the Midwest, after Iowa. But he still trails Trump, who has won in 21 states.

Trump’s loss means he will now have to win 56 percent of the delegates up for grabs in the remaining primaries and caucuses to secure a majority at the Republican convention in Cleveland, making a contested convention more likely.

However, the primary battle now turns to states in the Northeast, including New York in two weeks–home turf for Trump but inhospitable territory for a Southern conservative.