Election 2016: Ted Cruz Is Wooing Arizona Delegates Behind Donald Trump's Back For Convention Fight

Donald Trump walked away from the March 22 Republican primary in Arizona with a decisive victory and all of the state’s pledged delegates, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is reportedly doing his best to cut into that lead in case things get ugly at the GOP convention in Cleveland this summer. Though he lost to Trump, 47.1 percent to 24.9 percent, Cruz may be able to fill a substantial number of the 55 available delegate slots by working his grassroots organization in Arizona.

True to the senator’s — and Republican establishment’s — reported plan to deny the billionaire the party's nomination if he falls short of the majority of the delegates needed before the convention, the Texan is hustling to make sure that delegates from Arizona would be Cruz supporters when the time comes. If there's more than one vote, all of Arizona’s delegates will be free to vote for whomever they want.

“Cruz, out of all the campaigns, has the most folks on the ground and has been the most organized,” Michael Noble, an Arizona Republican consultant who isn’t affiliated with a campaign, told the Washington Examiner last week.

Cruz has a rough road ahead, and it isn’t clear if Trump — who has proven immune to major gaffes that would normally tank a presidential campaign — will be able to secure the requisite 1,237 delegates outright. Trump is trailing Cruz in the next voting state, Wisconsin, by 6.5 percent, according to averages of polls compiled by Real Clear Politics. But, with just 42 delegates, Wisconsin won’t be enough to bridge the gap between Trump, who has 736 delegates, and Cruz, who has 463. Cruz has momentum though, with wins in 10 of the states that voted so far, according to Politico.