Donald Trump and Ted Cruz battle for delegates at RNC meeting in Florida

Ted Cruz is in Florida courting RNC officials

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 21 April 2016

The Republican National Committee began holding its three-day spring meeting at a seaside resort in Hollywood, Florida, on Wednesday, and the Ted Cruz and Donald Trump campaigns are there courting Republican officials, especially in states that haven't voted yet. Cruz himself met with RNC members, telling reporters that even after his loss in New York, "what's clear today is that we are headed to a contested convention." If Trump doesn't win on the first ballot in Cleveland, "I believe we will have a tremendous advantage in that battle," Cruz said.

Trump was campaigning in Indiana on Wednesday, decrying the RNC's "rigged, crooked system," but his new political director, Rick Wiley, was at the luxury Florida resort holding private meetings with GOP officials. Other top aides will make Trump's case to RNC officials on Thursday. Cruz and Gov. John Kasich can no longer win the Republican nomination outright, so they are working to stop Trump from getting a majority of delegates.

Trump, after losing several state delegate fights with Cruz, has beefed up his staff with veteran campaign consultants, and he says he is going to start using a teleprompter for some speeches and, for the first time, hire a speechwriter. "The campaign is evolving and transitioning, and so am I," Trump told The Wall Street Journal. "I'll be more effective and more disciplined," he added. "I'm not going to blow it." But while he's hiring someone to write his speeches, "I'm still the same candidate," Trump told The Journal. "Can you imagine how upset my supporters would be after waiting for hours?"

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.