Ted Cruz’s father elected delegate to the Republican National Convention

May 15, 2016 in News by D

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Ted Cruz, left, raises his hand with his father Rafael, right, while holding his daughter Caroline during a victory speech Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Houston. Cruz defeated Democrat Paul Sadler to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) 11072012xNEWS 12302012xNEWS

Just once more, Rafael Cruz wants to vote for his son as the Republican nominee for president.

The Carrollton preacher is set to be one of 155 Texas delegates to the Republican National Convention in July in Cleveland.

Cruz is on the list of at-large delegates voted on by the National Nominations Committee. That committee selects at-large delegates who will be rubber-stamped Saturday by delegates at the Texas GOP convention in Dallas.

“He is a delegate,” Butch Davis, chairman of the party’s National Nominations Committee, said this morning.

Cruz has other options as well. He could also run to be a delegate in Congressional District 24, an area won by his son in the March 1 Texas primaries.

Each of the 36 congressional districts will pick three delegates. On Saturday, those delegates will be chosen and assigned to either Cruz, New York businessman Donald Trump or Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

Cruz dominated the March 1 Texas primaries and won the lion’s share of delegates that were at stake.

The National Nominations Committee will meet again Saturday to assign at-large delegates to Cruz and Trump. Cruz won 24 of those delegates, while Trump scored 17.

I’m told Rafael Cruz was steadfast at the National Nominations Committee, telling members that he intended to vote for his son. So it’s likely that he will become pledged to his son on the first ballot in Cleveland.

Though most of the Texas delegation is backing Cruz, Trump is almost certain to have enough delegates to win the nomination on the ballot in Cleveland.

Cruz dropped from the presidential race after a humbling defeat in the Indiana primary.

The Texas senator circulated a slate of delegates that included his father. The Cruz campaign has been pushing slates at various state conventions for the bulk of the primaries, hoping to be in position for a national convention fight that now almost certainly won’t happen.

Some Texas Republicans and Cruz were also pushing his mother, Eleanor, for delegate. She did not make the at-large list.

Ted Cruz is scheduled to address the Texas Republican Convention on Saturday afternoon.