The withdrawal of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, from the Republican presidential race means Donald Trump will now have as large a share of Alaska’s Republican votes as poll winner Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
According to an announcement from the Alaska Republican Party, Trump and Cruz will each receive 14 of Alaska’s 28 pledged delegates to the national Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
At the convention in July, a candidate must receive a majority from 2,472 total delegates to become the party’s nominee in the November general election.
According to election-night results, Cruz received 7,973 votes while Trump earned 7,346 votes, but because presidential nominees are chosen with delegates and not by popular vote, that margin is largely irrelevant.
According to the rules of the Republican Presidential Preference Poll, if a candidate withdraws from the presidential race before Alaska chooses its delegates at the state convention (this year, it’s April 28-30 in Fairbanks), the national delegates “shall be reapportioned among the qualified presidential candidates.”
The recalculation is performed with a mathematical formula.
On election night, Cruz won enough votes for 12 delegates, Trump had 11, and Rubio had five.
After the recalculation, Rubio’s five votes were redistributed, giving Cruz and Trump 14 delegates apiece.
