Fwd: First Read: Why Trump Can't Afford to Miss the 'Magic Number'

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From: First Read from NBC News <email@mail.nbcnews.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 24, 2016 at 1:34 PM
Subject: First Read: Why Trump Can't Afford to Miss the 'Magic Number'
To: pascal.alter@gmail.com

Forward this email to a friend March 24, 2016 Tune in to Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, Sundays on NBC News Why Trump Can't Afford to Miss the 'Magic Number' Thu, 24 Mar 2016 12:27:00 GMT From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann As the Republican presidential race turns next to the April 5 primary in Wisconsin, the reality for Donald Trump is that, heading into the Cleveland convention, he can't afford to miss hitting the magic number of 1,237 -- the delegates needed to clinch a majority to win the nomination. Why? Because there's an active effort to stop him on a second ballot if anyone falls short of the number. "[John] Kasich and [Ted] Cruz are scrambling to secure commitments from bound delegates to break off on a second-ballot and vote against Trump. In many cases, that means asking delegates to buck Republican primary voters in the name of settling on a nominee," Politico writes. An unbound delegate from North Dakota, Curly Haugland, was even more candid with National Review, pointing out that Arizona -- which Trump won on Tuesday -- would probably see its delegates defect to Cruz after the first ballot. "Voters in the primaries are not representative of the people who are gonna' be sittin' in the chairs in Cleveland," he said. "The convention delegates from Arizona are going to be very conservative people, I guarantee ya'." Of course, Trump has threatened that "you'd have riots" if he was just 50 or 100 delegates short of the magic number yet still leading his nearest competition. But you now see why clearing that magic number is so important for Trump.   Click for more. First Read's Morning Clips: What We Learned from a GOP Focus Group A roundup of the most important political news stories of the day  Click for more. Latest Stories Trump Retweets Pic Comparing His Wife to Heidi Cruz Ted Cruz warned Donald Trump not to "attack women" Thursday after the Republican frontrunner appeared to escalate the personal feud over their wives.  Click for more. Cruz Plans on 'Competing Vigorously' In New York, Trump's Home Turf Cruz spoke to supporters in Manhattan Wednesday and said he believes he can give Trump a run for his money in Trump's home state primary.  Click for more. Clinton Takes on Trumpism in Foreign Policy Speech With one eye on an ascendent Donald Trump and the other on Europe, still reeling from this week's terror attack, Hillary Clinton offered a firm defense of internationalism and American leadership Wednesday.  Click for more. More News The Lid: The One Area Where the GOP Seems United Right Now Obama to Cruz: Singling Out Muslims 'Makes No Sense' Alabama Gov. Apologizes But Denies Having Physical Affair Sanders Touts 'Very Positive Night' After Utah, Idaho Wins You_��re receiving First Read from NBC News Politics. Share this with your family and friends and keep them up to date. Share now Follow Us   Privacy  |  (....) NBC NEWS, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112