Supporters backing Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in Arkansas are working together to try to defeat Donald Trump if a second round of voting is required to determine the GOP presidential nominee,
The Washington Examiner reports.
Trump won the March 1 Arkansas primary with 33 percent of the vote, and was awarded 16 of the state's GOP delegates. Cruz finished a close second, with 31 percent, getting 15 delegates.
Rubio won 25 percent of the vote, which garnered him 9 delegates, but he has since dropped out of the race. He hasn't endorsed Cruz, but did
tell Mark Levin in a video podcast on Tuesday that the nomination should go to a conservative and that Cruz is the only one still in the running.
Though the number of delegates awarded to each of the three candidates has been decided by primary voters, the choice of who those delegates will be won't be made until after local elections are held this month, followed by a state convention on May 14.
Arkansas binds its delegates to the candidate they are elected to represent on the first vote, but if no one gets a majority, in this case 1,237, they are free to vote for whomever they wish on subsequent ballots.
According to the Examiner, Cruz and Rubio forces are working to get Trump and Rubio delegates elected who will vote for Cruz on the second ballot should Trump fail to reach the magic number.
Trump has not been taking advantage of the party rules that allow candidates to attempt to woo delegates their way, and has publicly complained that the system
is "rigged."
"The Trump Campaign continues what seems to be an eclectic version of a campaign," one Arkansas GOP insider told the Examiner. "They're not sending their preferred list, they're not having people vetted to make sure they're Trump people."
Meanwhile, Cruz is building up support for a second ballot, including state party bigwigs including Sen. John Boozman, Sen. Tom Cotton, and Rep. Bruce Westerman. Reps. Steve Womack, Rick Crawford, Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin are vying for Rubio slots.
"I've got a great working relationship with the state director for Rubio and I think generally what we're looking for is about the same," state Rep. Bob Ballinger, who is Cruz's Arkansas co-chairman, told the Examiner. "We'll be working together to make sure the right delegates are selected."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.