By: Mitch Hughes

The GOP field of presidential candidates that once had 17 people throwing their hats in the ring has now narrowed itself down to just 2. Ted Cruz has suspended his campaign following his defeat in the state of Indiana, which he claimed to be his “firewall state.” In his suspension announcement, Cruz stated, “From the beginning I’ve said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory. Tonight, I’m sorry to say, it appears that path has been foreclosed.” The Texas Senator has been consistently ranked 2nd in national GOP polls and in the number of candidates for the Republican nomination.

This may not seem surprising to some as Cruz’s chances for winning enough delegates to secure the nomination outright were shattered following primary losses in the key Northeastern States: Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, and Connecticut. However, Cruz stated shortly after these losses that he was still intent on preventing Trump from getting enough delegates and taking the race to a contested Republican Convention that would take place in July, where he would still have a chance to become the party’s nominee if he were to be nominated by members of the Republican National Committee.

Now that Cruz has ended his attempt to prevent Trump from winning the nomination outright, the Republican Party is forced to face the reality that Donald Trump is coming closer and closer to becoming their nominee for president. John Kasich is still going all in, but he too cannot secure enough delegates to win the nomination outright, so he is counting on his composed temperament to help him if the race were to come to a contested convention.