Although Donald Trump is not yet assured of winning enough delegates to secure the Republican presidential nomination, he is the only remaining candidate who has a real chance of capturing the necessary 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination, according to an analysis by the New York Times.
Trump now has a total of 673 delegates; Ted Cruz has 410; and John Kasich has 143, according to the latest tabulation of the 2016 Delegate Count and Primary Results by the Times.
Trump's chances of becoming the Republican nominee for the November presidential election were greatly enhanced by his victories on Tuesday in the primaries held in Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri and Northern Marianas Islands. Not even his lost to Kasich in the latter's home state of Ohio could slow down the real estate billionaire's march to the Republican nomination.
Significantly, Trump's series of victories, particularly the billionaire's huge victory in Rubio's home state of Florida, forced Rubio to quit the presidential race.
As a result, only Cruz and Kasich are left to fight Trump for the remaining delegates. But Kasich is too far behind, having won only one state out of 27 that have already held their primaries and caucuses. In the case of Cruz, he would need to win the vast majority of the remaining delegates to secure the nomination, which the New York Times said is "a near impossibility."
Nonetheless, Trump still needs to win most of the remaining delegates to avoid a contested convention.
If he wins in the upcoming primaries in Arizona (March 22; winner-take-all with 58 delegates at stake), New York (April 19; 95 delegates at stake) and California (June 7; winner-take-most with 172 delegates at stake), he would get the needed delegates, the Times said.
Of these three states, California offers the biggest prize. The Times said California is "winnable" for Trump although "it could be a difficult state for him" since America's most populous state "includes a mix of well-educated voters who could support Kasich and conservative voters who could support Cruz."
If Trump loses California, he could fall short of the required number of delegates for outright nomination, the Times said.
Exit polls have indicated that most of Rubio's support could be distributed to Trump's competitors, with 80 percent projected to go to Cruz. This would cut into Trump's delegate lead.
But even that may not prevent Trump from winning California and other key states that will give him enough delegates to clinch the GOP nomination, the Times said.
