Washington Free Beacon editor Matthew Continetti spoke on CNN Monday about the GOP presidential race and the possibility of a contested convention in the coming days.
CNN’s Brooke Baldwin asked Continetti what would happen if Gov. John Kasich won his home state of Ohio Tuesday, as opposed to Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner. Continetti said that if this did happen, it would be difficult for Trump to get enough delegates to get the nomination before the convention.
"It's very important because if Kasich wins Ohio tomorrow, then it's very likely Trump will be unable to reach the 1,237 number of delegates he would need to secure the nomination outright," he said. "And so then, you have a situation where there would be a contested convention if he's unable to reach that 1,237 number ... No one's been able to stop Trump yet, but I think the last-ditch effort to stop Trump at the Republican convention will be riveting and [a] possibly dangerous experience for all parties involved."
Baldwin then asked Continetti about the likelihood of a contested convention. She gave him a hypothetical situation in which Rubio dropped out after losing Florida, as the polls currently indicate will happen, and Ted Cruz (R., Texas), Trump and Kasich went to a contested convention.
Continetti said that if this did happen, Rubio should stay in because once a contested convention comes, then the nomination would be up for grabs.
"Well, the situation where Kasich wins Ohio, but Trump wins Florida and maybe Cruz takes Missouri," he said. "It's a messy situation. That means most likely no one will reach the outright delegate number, the 1,237 number. In that case, I would actually say Rubio should probably stay in the race and pick up delegates here and there because basically you're headed towards a contested convention where everything is up for grabs."