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                April Looms as Key Month in US Presidential Race

   by Jim Malone

   In his poem "The Waste Land," T.S. Eliot noted that "April is the
   cruelest month." That admonition could also apply to the U.S.
   presidential race and the coming primaries next month that begin with
   the April 5 showdown in Wisconsin.

   Wisconsin looms as a major test in the Republican race, where
   front-runner Donald Trump looks to put more distance between himself
   and challengers Ted Cruz and John Kasich.

   A new distraction for Trump

   The Trump campaign suffered a potential setback Tuesday when police in
   Florida charged campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with simple battery
   in connection with an incident involving a reporter during a campaign
   event March 8.

   Lewandowski was ordered to appear before a judge May 4 in connection
   with the charge. Police released a new surveillance video that appears
   to show Lewandowski grabbing the arm of reporter Michelle Fields, who
   then worked for Breitbart News. A Trump campaign statement said
   Lewandowski is "absolutely innocent" of the charge.

   The police action against Lewandowski is the latest distraction for the
   Trump campaign, which in recent weeks has had to deal with protesters
   at some of its rallies and some Trump supporters who physically lashed
   out at protesters trying to disrupt the events.

   Cruz looks to break through

   In the battle for Wisconsin, Cruz received a boost Tuesday with the
   endorsement of the state's governor, Scott Walker. Walker was one of
   the early victims of the Trump surge in the Republican primary race and
   his popularity has ebbed quite a bit from what it was a few years ago.
   Walker's support, however, could help Cruz in the Badger State in what
   recent polls suggest is a close race between the Texas senator and
   Trump.

   After Wisconsin, the April calendar features the New York primary on
   the 19th and five northeastern primaries on April 26: Connecticut,
   Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Recent polls suggest
   Trump should do well in most of these states, although he could split
   delegates with Cruz and Kasich. Kasich hopes his Pennsylvania roots
   will boost his delegate count -- he grew up in McKees Rocks, an
   industrial town not far from Pittsburgh.

   Cruz supporters and many of those who want to block Trump are growing
   increasingly impatient with Kasich and his decision to stay in the race
   even though he has won only one primary -- his home state of Ohio.

   Anti-Trump forces look to convention

   The anti-Trump strategy remains focused on denying the New York
   billionaire the number of delegates he needs to claim the Republican
   nomination in advance of the national nominating convention in
   Cleveland in July.

   The latest Associated Press tally has Trump with 739 delegates,
   followed by Cruz with 465 and Kasich with 143. It takes 1,237 delegates
   to clinch the Republican nomination, and it's still unclear whether
   Trump will be able to reach that number before the convention.

   If not, Republicans may be looking at their first contested convention
   in 40 years, and uncertainty about the outcome will grow with each
   additional ballot.

   Most Republican delegates are committed to one of the candidates based
   on primary or caucus results in their state on the first ballot. After
   that, however, increasing numbers of delegates would be free to support
   whomever they please.

   Trump has warned that any attempt to take the nomination away from him
   at the convention would lead to chaos. So far, that has not stopped
   establishment Republicans from taking a hard look at how Trump might be
   stopped at the convention and who the party might turn to instead.

   Sanders looks to build on recent victories

   In the Democratic race, Bernie Sanders is trying to build momentum off
   his recent victories in caucus votes in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington
   state. Sanders defeated front-runner Hillary Clinton by huge margins in
   those states, continuing a pattern of doing well in smaller caucus
   contests dominated by white progressive Democrats and younger voters.

   Clinton has done better in larger, more diverse states such as Florida,
   Illinois and Ohio.

   Sanders hopes for a strong showing Tuesday in Wisconsin that would
   cause Democratic delegates to question Clinton's ability to secure the
   Democratic nomination.

   Clinton wants to pivot her focus to the Republicans, but Sanders has
   proven to be persistent and resourceful -- raising about $4 million
   since his most recent victories in western states.

   The latest AP delegate tally has Clinton at 1,234 and Sanders trailing
   with 956.

   Clinton's lead grows considerably when her support among the so-called
   Democratic "super-delegates" is added. That puts Clinton at 1,703,
   roughly 70 percent of the 2,383 needed to secure the Democratic
   nomination.

   Her lead among super-delegates also means that Sanders would have to
   win about 67 percent of the remaining delegates at stake to win the
   nomination, a difficult task under Democratic Party rules that allocate
   delegates from primaries and caucuses on a proportional basis.

   Sanders has asked for another debate with Clinton and says his campaign
   is actively trying to win over super-delegates who are already
   committed to Clinton. Her supporters hope to have a firmer grip on the
   Democratic nomination by the end of April after primaries in New York
   and Pennsylvania, where the former secretary of state is favored.
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   -race/3260028.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/april-looms-key-month-us-presidential-race/3260028.html