Kasich Not Fazed by 8-State Convention Rule

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz has said that a Republican convention delegate rule keeps John Kasich out of the running for a ballot if the convention is contested, reports USA Today.

The rule known as Rule 40 (b) will not be a problem, Kasich said in an interview with National Review. Kasich's team said he knew that a committee will meet and set new rules for the convention.

Political science professor Morris Fiorina told USA Today that the rules "can be changed by the convention at will."

The rule states that to be nominated, presidential contenders must win a majority of delegates in eight states. Mitt Romney's supporters proposed the rule in 2012 to keep Ron Paul's supporters from placing his name up for nomination.

Before 2012, the rule was five states. Experts told USA Today that before that, the threshold was three states.

Trump is the only nominee who has hit the eight-state mark, but Cruz could get there, said University of Georgia lecturer Josh Putnam, through his analysis at FrontloadingHQ. He said Kasich has no chance, mathematically, of reaching the 1,237-delegate threshold to assure the nomination.

In the National Review interview, Kasich agreed that it's likely he will arrive at the convention with fewer delegates than Cruz and Trump. However, he said with the amount of delegates left, Cruz doesn't have a clear shot at 1,237, either.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus cast doubt on Kasich's chances. In a USA Today interview, he said it's likely the convention will change some rules, but it's unlikely that Rule 40 (b) will be one of them. "I haven't heard a whole lot of horsepower out there looking for a change on the rule."

However, Politico reports that four early nominees to the committee are eager to get rid of the rule, which they see as helping Donald Trump.

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