Clay Dubberly, Editor in Chief

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz swept the Wisconsin primary Tuesday, April 5, taking the state and moving forward towards a possible historic contested convention.

“Tonight is a turning point,” Cruz said at his victory rally: “I am more and more convinced that our campaign is going to win the 1,237 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. Either before Cleveland or at Cleveland … we will win a majority of the delegates.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a well-liked and influential political figure, backed Cruz in the primaries. Leading to the primaries, Donald Trump bombarded Walker with attacks, which may have cost him the primary.

Walker’s approval rating according to the reliable Marquette Law School poll placed him at 80 percent among likely voters.

Mark Graul, a GOP strategist, called Trump’s attacks on Walker “the most absurd strategy I have ever seen.”

“You attack somebody with high favorables, who’s won three gubernatorial elections in four years? It makes no sense to me,” Graul said.

Trump, however — well-versed in leading smear campaigns against his foes — turned his eyes toward towards Walker’s White House record last week.

“Look, I beat him very badly,” Trump said. “[Walker] was going in as a favorite in the presidential run. I knew he couldn’t endorse me. I never called and asked him for an endorsement.”

“Wisconsin is doing very poorly, by the way,” Trump added, criticizing Walker’s record as governor and questioning the well-being of his state.

In an interview with radio host Michael Koolidge, Trump addressed Walker’s decision to drop out of the presidential race: “We sent him packing like a little boy.”

Speculators in the state say that Walker’s endorsement of Cruz helped him one-up Trump in the primary, cementing Cruz’s victory.

With his win, Cruz is guaranteed at least 18 pledged delegates.

Trump’s campaign released a statement after the loss: “Donald J. Trump withstood the onslaught of the establishment yet again. Lyin’ Ted Cruz had the Governor of Wisconsin, many conservative talk radio show hosts, and the entire party apparatus behind him. Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet — he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump. We have total confidence that Mr. Trump will go on to win in New York, where he holds a substantial lead in all the polls, and beyond.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who hasn’t indicated that he’s considering ending his campaign, left with no delegates.

Feature photo courtesy of insidethebeltway.com