Rubio to States' GOPs: I Still Want All My Delegates

Donald Trump told Anderson Cooper on Tuesday he may not support the GOP nominee if it's not him. Former rival Marco Rubio, meanwhile, is doing everything he can to make sure Trump will eventually have to make that choice, trying to hold onto the 172 delegates he won to keep Trump from scooping up the 1,237 delegates he needs to avoid a contested convention, NBC News reports. Rubio aide Alex Burgos told MSNBC that his boss "wants to give voters a chance to stop Trump," and right now that effort involves working behind the scenes to get state parties in at least 21 states and territories to not release any of his delegates—bucking the usual trend of simply letting delegates support a different candidate. In at least one case so far, it appears Rubio's strategy is working.

In a letter to Peter Goldberg, chair of the Alaska GOP, and cc'd to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Rubio made his case for the five delegates he nabbed March 1 in Alaska, noting those delegates "remain bound to vote for me"—and after conferring with RNC officials in DC, Goldberg agreed, at least for the first ballot at the GOP convention, CNN notes. "Senator Rubio will have his five delegates at the national convention," he said, per KTVA. A Rubio source tells MSNBC that the same missive was sent to 20 other states and territories. Goldberg says he's heard other states' parties are also huddling over the rules (each state determines what happens to delegates, not the RNC), with "most" leaning toward Rubio. As for Trump reaching that magic 1,237, John Kasich spoke to that on Monday's The Kelly File, per the Washington Times. "He's not going to get to 1,237," Kasich said. "That's like saying what if a spaceman lands tonight?" (Gawker points out Rubio's reference to the "Untied States.")