Cruz, Kasich looking past Northeast primaries to slow Trump's momentum

MONROEVILLE, Pa. -- The Republican presidential race is now just weeks away from the finish line as the candidates focus on who is phony, who is lying and who is the most authentic.

Ted Cruz, who is losing ground to Donald Trump in terms of convention delegates, is seeking to counter-brand the businessman as a "phony," citing comments by an aide that Trump's approach has been an act and that the prospective nominee will act more presidential in the months ahead. "Do we want to nominate a candidate who is a phony?" the Texas senator asked supporters this weekend at a high school theater in Monroeville, near Pittsburgh. "Who tells us he's lying to us?

Trump, who is poised to expand his delegate lead in five northeastern primaries on Tuesday, said Cruz's latest tack is "Lying Ted's" newest act. Trump told supporters he will speak differently to different audiences, but plans to follow through on ambitious pledges ranging from changes to trade deals to a security wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. "I sort of don't like toning it down," Trump told backers this weekend in Waterbury, Conn.

Trump remained on offense Sunday, telling a rally at an airplane hangar in Hagerstown, Md., that his outspoken style fueled his rise in the polls, and "we've got to be a little bit careful about changing." He again blasted "Lying Ted Cruz," accusing hm of essentially "bribing" convention delegates.

A month-and-a-half before the end of the primary season, Trump — coming off a huge win last week in his home state of New York — could sweep Tuesday's contests in five nearby northeastern states: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, and Rhode Island.

How big a favorite is Trump in these states? Cruz and Kasich are already making plans for Indiana, which holds its primary on May 3. Cruz campaigned in the Hoosier State on Monday, while Kasich plans to be in Indiana as the other states vote on Tuesday. In Pennsylvania, Trump leads the field with 45%, according to a NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll Sunday, well ahead of Cruz (27%) and John Kasich (24%).

Kasich, who is trying to block Trump from winning the nomination on the first ballot at the convention in July, says neither Trump nor Cruz are qualified for the presidency, and both would lose the general election to Democrat Hillary Clinton. "A vote for Cruz or Trump, frankly, is a vote for Hillary Clinton," Kasich said on CBS' Face The Nation.

The Ohio governor, who has a good chance to beat out Cruz in Tuesday's contests, predicts there will be a contested convention in which delegates will be unbound and turn to him after the first ballot. The latest set of Republican primaries takes place amid talk of an alleged "new Trump."

On the night of his New York win, Trump took a notably different approach in a briefer-than-unusual victory speech. He stressed the need for Republican unity, and even referred to his nearest GOP opponent as "Senator Cruz" rather than "Lying Ted."

Days later, in a private meeting with members of the Republican National Committee, Trump convention manager Paul Manafort said the candidate plans to change his approach, and “the part that he’s been playing is now evolving into the part that you’ve been expecting ... the negatives will come down, the image is going to change."

In more recent days, Trump and Manafort said the aide was referring to the candidate's different approaches to different kinds of crowds. Trump has been his boisterous self in his recent rallies, and "Lying Ted" has re-appeared.

Cruz, meanwhile, says Manafort's original comments prove that Trump's campaign is a sham. "Just like Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump is a phony," Cruz said after his appearance near Pittsburgh.

Tuesday's biggest prize is Pennsylvania, and not just because it's the biggest state. While the winner of the Pennsylvania primary gets 17 delegates, the remaining 54 delegates are unbound and subject to furious lobbying by the Trump campaign and its rivals. "Imagine the pressure that is going to be on those people," said G. Terry Madonna, a political scientist at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.

Madonna, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll, said the Republican demographics are favorable to Trump in Pennsylvania and throughout the northeast generally, and Cruz and Kasich have found it hard to developer a counter-narrative to the businessman's appeal.

Trump also has a special appeal to Republican voters who have become disenchanted with the party, Madonna said: "There has been some angst and anger at the establishment ... These are people who feel left behind, left out."

Cruz, who argues that Trump is really a part of the establishment, had cut into Trump's lead by picking off delegates at various state conventions, as well as a big win in the Wisconsin primary on April 5.

Then came New York. After carrying more than 60% of the vote there, Trump now has 845 delegates to Cruz's 559, according to the Associated Press, with Kasich at 148.

Trump needs 1,237 delegates, a majority plus one, to clinch the Republican presidential nomination on the first ballot.

Cruz supporters who saw their candidate near Pittsburgh are hopeful of his chances, but say he needs to win more contests in the few weeks remaining. "He starts to need everything now," said Fonda Dalbow, 60, an administrative assistant from Irwin, Pa.

After the Indiana primary on May 3, only nine states will be left, including Nebraska and West Virginia (May 10), Oregon (May 17) and Washington (May 24). The process ends with June 7 contests in California, New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota.

Judy Davis, 65, a retired school teacher from Plum Borough, Pa., said she hopes Cruz can prevail, but "there are not many states left."