IOWA, Feb. 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks at a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa, the United States, on Jan. 31, 2016. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)(zhf/IANS)
Washington, April 17 (IANS) US presidential hopeful and Texas Senator Ted Cruz won all the 14 Republican National Convention delegates up for grabs in the Wyoming state.
The final Wyoming delegate total is Cruz at 23 and front-runner Donald Trump at just one, NBC News reported.
Cruz was the only candidate to address the convention in person on Saturday night, urging the assembled crowd to back Cruz supporters for the delegate slate in order to stop both Trump and Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton.
"If you don't want to see Donald Trump as the nominee, if you don't want to hand the general (election) to Hillary Clinton, which is what a Trump nomination does, then I ask you to please support the men and women on this slate," Cruz said, holding up a piece of paper of 14 recommended delegates.
"We had a tremendous show of grassroots support that resulted in a critical victory at today's Wyoming Republican Convention," he said
"Republicans overwhelmingly elected delegates who will support us at the national convention and nominate us to take on Clinton," he added.
Meanwhile, Trump started calling foul well before votes were cast, saying on "Fox and Friends" on Saturday morning that states like Wyoming and Colorado show the system is not fair.
"I don't want to waste millions of dollars going out to Wyoming many months before to wine and dine and to essentially pay off all these people because a lot of it's a pay-off," Trump said.
"I mean the whole thing's a big pay-off, has nothing to do with democracy," he added.
However, the Republican National Committee shot back, and said each state develops its own process to select delegates.
So far in the Republican race, Trump is leading with 758 delegates, Cruz is at second place with 553 and Ohio Governor John Kasich at 145. They need a total 1,237 delegates to become the party's presidential nominee who will go on to fight the election for the White House on November 8.
