Trump can't win the nomination until May: The math behind it

Donald Trump's march toward the Republican Party's presidential nomination just got a little more complicated.

Having won 621 delegates so far by Wednesday morning, Trump must win another 616 delegates to reach the simple majority of pledged delegates needed to secure the party's nomination at its convention in July.

Results from Missouri's primary race on Tuesday were still too close to call, but assuming Trump wins at least 12 of the state's 52 delegates, he could reach the "magic number" — 1,237 — of delegates needed to win no earlier than May 24 when Washington state holds its primary.

But that's only if Trump wins all 606 delegates at stake in the 14 states that votes between now and then.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's path is even harder. Having won 396 delegates by Wednesday morning, Cruz needs another 841 delegates to win the nomination. At that rate, the earliest he could secure the nomination would be June 7, when voters in California, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota head to the polls on the last day of voting in the Republican primary before the delegates head to Cleveland, Ohio, for the Republican National Convention on July 18.

As for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who won all 66 delegates in his home state on Tuesday, it would be mathematically impossible for him to win the nomination outright. He still needs 1,099 delegates to win the party's support and there are less than 962 delegates still up for grabs.

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