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The rules aren't 'stacked against you,' Mr. Trump

Just because you lose, doesn't mean you were cheated.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during his rally at Fountain  Park in Fountain Hills, Arizona, on Saturday, March 19, 2016.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during his rally at Fountain Park in Fountain Hills, Arizona, on Saturday, March 19, 2016.


On Tuesday, Republican front-runner Donald Trump claimed the Republican National Committee was “stacked against me” and was conspiring to deny him the nomination.

I don’t know what he thinks is going on but it’s quite simple: Get a majority of delegates, and you will win.

So far, he does not have 50 percent of delegates available, which means he does not have the majority. I’m sorry, Donald, but you have to do the math.

The rules have been the same since the beginning, so there’s no basis for that argument either.

The bottom line is that like winning any kind of team sport — get the most points and you win. In this case, you need a simple majority of the available delegates and you win.

Even if he goes into the convention with more delegates than anyone, still not having over 50 percent and then loses the nomination because someone else gets that majority in the second or third ballot, he still can’t complain.

Everything that he believes is purely there to obstruct him is all part of the rule book.

Let’s say ASU had a primary for a student presidential election and there are 1,000 student delegates available before the convention.

Candidate A has 300 delegates, Candidate B has 255 delegates, Candidate C (who has since dropped out) has 227 delegates and Candidate D has 218 delegates.

In order for any of them to win the nomination outright before the convention they have to have 501 delegates.

If none of them get to 501, then at the convention every delegate votes for the candidate they want. After that initial ballot, if one candidate reaches that majority then they get the nomination.

If not, then there is a second ballot and everyone votes again. This process is repeated until a majority is reached.

So, for Trump, he can’t scream and whine about being cheated out of a nomination because the majority of the country doesn’t want him yet. (Key word: yet.)

There are still plenty of primaries left for him to reach that majority, but it goes the same for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is mathematically out when it comes to winning primaries, but he can still try to court delegates to his side if Trump or Cruz don't get a majority in the first or second ballots.

So, before you go and start screaming conspiracy theories about how the race is rigged in favor of the establishment, just remember that in any sporting event the favored team can always get upset.

Just because the other team is making a comeback in the last minute doesn’t mean they’re breaking the rules.


Reach the columnist at abundy@asu.edu or follow @abkbundy on Twitter.

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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.

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