First Read is a morning briefing from Meet
the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important
political stories and why they matter.
The importance of Pennsylvania and its 54 free-agent delegates
Next Tuesday will feature essentially two
different Pennsylvania Republican primaries -- the one we see (Donald
Trump vs. Ted Cruz vs. John Kasich), and the one we won't (the fight for
the state's 54 free-agent delegates). Indeed, it's that second primary
that very well could determine whether or not Trump reaches the 1,237
delegates needed to win the GOP presidential nomination. Here's how
Pennsylvania's delegate allocation works: 17 delegates are awarded to
next week's Republican winner, and Trump is leading his GOP rivals by
double digits in the Keystone State, according to a new Franklin &
Marshall poll. But the state's other 54 delegates will be elected on the
ballot -- with no clue to voters whom they might support at the
convention -- and they will act as free agents heading into July's GOP
convention. How big of a deal is Pennsylvania's delegate-allocation
system? As the New York Times' Nate Cohn
has estimated, Trump would be favored to win about 60 delegates if it
were winner-take-all by congressional district, or 40 delegates if they
were awarded proportionally. But the most he can get from a big win (at
least on Primary Day) is 17 delegates. And how many of those 54 unbound
delegates Trump can convince to vote for him could be the difference
between reaching 1,237 on that first convention ballot and missing it.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
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