Cruz loses in five states, mathematically eliminating him from getting a delegate majority

♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor

PHILADELPHIA (CFP) — U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has been mathematically eliminated from capturing a majority of Republican presidential delegates after  getting wiped out in five primaries in the Northeast.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz

Cruz came in third behind both Donald Trump and Ohio Governor John Kasich in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island. He failed to crack 20 percent in any of those states and managed less than 11 percent in Rhode Island.

The only state where Cruz didn’t finish dead last was Pennsylvania, where he took 22 percent of the vote and edged out Kasich for second place. Trump won all five primaries up for grabs in the April 26 vote.

Cruz, the last Southerner left in the presidential race, will now head to Indiana, which is increasingly seen as a must-win for the senator to stop Trump from getting to a delegate majority, triggering a contested convention. Indiana votes May 3.

A contested convention is now Cruz’s only path to the GOP nomination. With his losses in the Northeast, he has 562 delegates and would need 675 to secure a majority in Cleveland; however, there are only 616 delegates still outstanding.

With his victories in the Northeast, Trump has 954 pledged delegates. He needs to win just 283 more delegates to secure the nomination, or about 46 percent of the delegates remaining.