North Dakota victory highlight Cruz's strength in delegate game

Ted Cruz, appearing Friday in "Wisconsin Decides 2016" in Milwaukee, has sought to increase Trump's negativity ratings among women. Wisconsin holds its open primary Tuesday and will allot 42 delegates proportionally. less Ted Cruz, appearing Friday in "Wisconsin Decides 2016" in Milwaukee, has sought to increase Trump's negativity ratings among women. Wisconsin holds its open primary Tuesday and will allot 42 delegates ... more Photo: Daniel Acker, Stringer Photo: Daniel Acker, Stringer Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close North Dakota victory highlight Cruz's strength in delegate game 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

Ted Cruz claimed victory Sunday in a state primary contest that doesn't officially have a winner. Informally, it marked the kickoff of a shadowy race for friendly delegates that could decide the GOP primary as much as the overt race for votes.

This weekend saw the first state Republican parties elect delegates to the national convention in July, among them North Dakota. Unlike most states, North Dakota doesn't tell its delegates which candidates to support.

Yet Cruz announced Sunday that he had "the support of the vast majority of North Dakota delegates," because his campaign had managed to get declared supporters elected as state delegates.

Even if they're under no contractual obligation to vote for Cruz, they indicate that they will.

It's a promising indicator that ongoing efforts to get Cruz fans elected at party delegates will bear fruit, but it's a feat the campaign will have to replicate at state conventions across the country if Cruz hopes for an upset victory at a contested convention in July.

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Tennessee joined North Dakota this weekend in electing a batch of party delegates to the national convention—and both showed an inclination towards Cruz, even though he didn't win a popular vote in either state.

On March 1, Trump won Tennessee's primary vote and a majority of the 41 delegates allocated by primary voters. But when it came time for the state GOP to choose its 14 delegates on Saturday, as allowed by state rules, the Trump campaign complained that the roster had been stocked with Cruz supporters, according to a report from the Boston Herald.

North Dakota, unlike most states, doesn't hold a primary or caucuses. Instead, its state GOP elects the full slate. And of the 25 elected Sunday, CNN reported that 18 were on a circulated list of delegates preferred by the Cruz campaign.

The victory remains unofficial, because the North Dakota delegates aren't mandated to support particular candidates like the delegates from most other states.

But those mandates are seeming increasingly irrelevant as the likelihood of a contested convention grows. If no candidate arrives at the convention with at least 1,237 delegates pledge to their campaign, most of the delegates will quickly become free to vote for whichever candidate they personally support.

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In that case, campaigning for supportive delegates could prove as important as campaigning for primary votes.

The results of this weekend's premier delegate elections lightly confirm what experts previously alleged: that the Cruz campaign, with its meticulous operations, outdoes the Trump campaign and its impulsive approach when it comes to courting delegates.

If Cruz continues winning supportive delegates, he could pave a path to claim the nomination in a second, third or fourth round of voting at the party's national convention.