Donald Trump Wins The New York Primary But Could A ‘White Knight’ Swoop In To Steal The Nomination?

Donald Trump took a huge bite out of the “Big Apple” on Tuesday. He received 60.5 percent of the vote. John Kasich took 25.1 percent. Ted Cruz only received 14.5 percent of the vote. The question is, with the Republican Party allegedly fighting him every step of the way, could a Republican “white knight” still block his nomination?

Donald Trump received 89 more assigned delegates from New York. That puts him one step closer to the Republican nomination, with 845 delegates. Any candidate will require no less than 1,237. Trump needs only 392 more delegates to avoid a contested convention, according to Real Clear Politics.

Ted Cruz gained no new delegates, leaving him with 559 assigned delegates total, as of April 20. He would need another 678 to win the nomination. John Kasich won three more, for a total of 147.

There are only 734 delegates remaining to be assigned, making it very unlikely that Ted Cruz could get enough votes to win the nomination on the first vote. It is completely impossible for John Kasich to win the nomination before the convention’s second or third vote, when all delegates are released from their assigned duty to represent the primaries.

If Donald Trump gets just slightly over half of the remaining delegates, there will be no second vote. He will walk into the convention as the nominee. If he gets just 392 more delegates, the party will have to accept his candidacy, but short of that, it is possible, even though he has won by nothing short of a landslide, Trump might lose a contested convention.

Ted Cruz, at one time, assumed that if Trump were not the nominee then he would be, but he’s starting to consider he could be wrong about that. There are rumors of a “white knight” candidate. That would mean the Republican Party could choose someone from left field, someone who got virtually no votes in the primary, or someone who didn’t even run, to be the nominee over Trump or Cruz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IoL2f7r38

Potential “white knights” mentioned by various pundits and party members include Jeb Bush, with no more than 5 percent in the polls before withdrawing from the race, and Mitt Romney, who lost the 2012 election to Obama. We can also consider that is why Kasich is still around. Since there is no way he could get the nomination off primary votes, maybe he could serve as a “white knight.” At least the people in Ohio like him.

Donald Trump could be up against a party intrinsically hostile to his candidacy. The Hill interviewed several House Representatives who attended a meeting with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on April 19.

Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana, a member of GOP leadership, was quoted by the Hill, saying the people had to perceive whatever the party did to be fair. Is he making a differentiation between being fair and appearing to be fair?

“My belief is it’s all about fairness. Ultimately, the convention has to be perceived to be fair.”

Donald Trump could be supplanted by a former candidate. Luke Messer mentioned Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee, and former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who declined to run for the White House in 2008, as possible “white knight” candidates. Mitt Romney as the “white knight” is more than a little reminiscent of the old Joseph Smith “White Horse Prophecy,” according to Patheos.

Rep. Ryan Costello, who says he’s neutral on the race, reported on what was said.

“What he did say was the number is 1,237 and if you don’t hit 1,237 that means you didn’t get a majority of the votes and thus you’re dealing with a second ballot.”

Rep. Richard Hudson from North Carolina seemed to be talking about actual fairness, not just appearing fair.

“Millions of votes will have been cast. To ignore that and set that aside just doesn’t seem right to me. I haven’t endorsed anybody; I don’t have a horse in the race. But I just think the will of the people ought to carry the day.”

Donald Trump supporter Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania, already a Trump supporter, believes Republicans could not take the backlash of choosing a “white knight.”

“I think it would bring irreparable damage to the Republican Party and hand this election to Hillary Clinton, People are angry. They think their voices aren’t heard and now they’re being told not only are their voice is not heard but your vote doesn’t matter, and Washington knows better. At a time when people are very angry at Washington, it’s not helpful.”

Donald Trump isn’t a party favorite, but would Republicans risk their credibility with the public to prevent Donald’s potential for the White House?

[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

Wait, What Is The White Horse Prophecy?