Trump won Missouri district, but delegates support Ted Cruz

BALLWIN, Mo. -- Donald Trump earned 37 of 52 Missouri delegates to the Republican National Convention with his narrow victory in the March primary, but he won't have that level of support if he fails to clinch the nomination on the first ballot.

Missouri hosted eight congressional district conventions Saturday, selecting 24 of the delegates for the convention -- three from each district. The rest will be chosen at a statewide convention in three weeks.

A slate of supporters of Sen. Ted Cruz was picked to represent Missouri's 2nd District, even though Trump carried the St. Louis-area district in the March primary. Results of the other districts were not immediately available.

The 37 Trump delegates to the national convention are bound to vote for him on the first ballot. But if he fails to capture the 1,237 votes needed for a first-ballot victory, delegates become uncommitted and are free to support whomever they choose.

At the 2nd District convention at a high school gym in west St. Louis County, the "Constitutional Conservatives" slate won among four contending slates in an often-contentious meeting.

Carl Bearden, a former state lawmaker from St. Charles who was one of the three delegates selected, said all three understand they are bound to vote for Trump on the first ballot.

"I think the will of the people is represented in that Trump gets 37 delegates on the first ballot and Cruz gets 15," Bearden said. If the nomination goes to a second ballot, he said voting for Cruz "would be my inclination, but between now and July a lot can change."

The process angered Susan Schenberg of Chesterfield, one of the three would-be delegates in the "Make America Great" slate of Trump supporters that was defeated.

"The delegates are supposed to represent the people and that didn't happen," Schenberg said. "This is why you have so much anger and frustration. People vote in the primary and they don't realize all this secret garbage that goes on. The system is broken and clearly needs to be fixed."

In many states so far, Cruz supporters already have won spots in the national convention as Trump delegates, much to the ire of the New York businessman, who has complained of a "rigged" system.

Trump won Missouri's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 8th districts; Cruz won the 4th, 5th and 7th districts. But Cruz supporters put forth slates in all eight districts in Missouri, including those won by Trump.

Many in the Republican establishment have fought hard to stop Trump, worried his nomination will help elect another Democrat to the White House, and perhaps even help Democrats win back control of the Senate. Detractors point to Trump's disparaging comments about women and minorities that have contributed to high unfavorable ratings.

It could be a moot point. The "Never Trump" movement is showing signs of waning. His decisive primary wins in New York, Pennsylvania and other states over the past two weeks have increased the possibility he could clinch the nomination ahead of the convention.

Still, it's no certainty. Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich remain in the race, banking on the prospect delegates will turn to them if Trump fails to secure a first-ballot win.

Missouri Democrats on Thursday selected 47 delegates for the party's convention in Philadelphia on July 25 to 28. Another 37 will be chosen at the Democratic state convention June 18. Hillary Clinton narrowly defeated Bernie Sanders in Missouri's Democratic primary. After a string of recent primary wins she is now 90 percent of the way to the delegate number needed to claim nomination.