It’s winner-take-all in each district. The candidate who receives the most votes district-wide captures all three delegates. In addition, the statewide winner will be awarded 10. All these 169 delegates will be selected by and committed to the candidates. Plus, three state party leaders will be unpledged delegates — for a grand California total of 172, roughly 14% of the 1,237 needed to nominate.
Democratic rules make more sense. They reward party loyalty. The more Democratic a district is, the more delegates it gets.
The Republican system, however, does make it efficient to target Democratic districts. There are fewer GOP voters to reach, and the prize is as great as in heavily Republican areas. Moreover, for Cruz, the urban Democratic districts are where so many Republican Latinos reside.
“As an Orange County activist,” Fleischman says, “I will be walking precincts in South Central L.A. That’s where my energy is better spent.
“If you’re a Republican in some of these districts,” he adds, “you’re kind of hardcore. There’s every reason for you not to be a registered Republican, and yet you are. Where Ted Cruz has an advantage is he will have a huge grass-roots campaign.”
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