HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) — As the Republican National Convention approaches, presidential candidate Ted Cruz was in Hollywood, Florida, and said he expects to see a contested convention in July.
At the annual Republican National Convention Spring Meeting in Hollywood Wednesday, Ted Cruz spoke to republican leaders. "What is clear today is that we are heading to a contested convention," he said.
Cruz walked away without a single delegate after New York’s primary elections. However, he said he is not discouraged. "The only condition in which I would leave the race is if it was clear there was no path to victory," he said.
Cruz lost in New York to Ohio Governor John Kasich, who received four delegates, and billionaire Donald Trump, who received 89 delegates. "It’s really nice to win the delegates with the votes. It’s really nice," Trump said.
Trump leads in the overall delegate count for the Republican party with a total of 847 delegates. Cruz trails behind with 553 delegates, and Kasich is last with 148 delegates.
A total of 1,237 delegates are needed in order to secure the nomination. However, there is still a chance of a contested convention in July.
This possibility does not bode well for Trump. "The people won’t stand for it," Trump said. "It’s a crooked system. It’s a system that’s rigged."
Trump has criticized the Republican party and its processes in recent weeks. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus responded to Trump’s statements. "If Donald Trump was winning the majority of votes, he’d likely have the majority of delegates," Priebus said.
Trump has also accused Cruz of stealing delegates unbound to a candidate. "Donald doesn’t like losing," Cruz said. "He doesn’t handle it well, and when Donald loses, he lashes out at the voters."
Also at the RNC Spring Meeting, the Rules Convention will meet and discuss rules surrounding the summer convention. However, a second Rules Convention will set the official rules for the convention.
Kasich will be speaking Wednesday evening, and Trump will be speaking later in the week.