NEW YORK (AP) – After several difficult weeks that have called into question his front-runner standing, Donald Trump has arrived in friendlier territory: his home state of New York.
Polls show Trump with a commanding lead in a state that is likely to play a major role in determining whether the billionaire businessman can clinch the Republican presidential nomination before this summer’s national convention. And his team has been touting a campaign reboot, including a new laser focus on racking up delegates.
But he is also facing a strong challenge from rivals who are working strategically to deny Trump delegates anywhere they can. And he does not appear to be doing all he can, despite all that’s riding on the outcome.
New York uses a complicated electoral system in which a candidate must win an overall majority of votes statewide as well as in each of the state’s congressional districts to walk away with all of its 95 delegates. That means that votes in GOP deserts like Brooklyn and the Bronx are arguably even more valuable than in Republican-rich counties like Nassau and Suffolk.
Spokeswoman Hope Hicks says the campaign has been busy door-knocking, phone-banking and holding rallies. Trump has “a huge group of influential people in NY supporting our candidacy with their local GOP committees,” she said in an email. “We see an opportunity to shut out Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz in the entire state of NY.”