--- title: Ted Cruz and John Kasich are Uniting to Block Donald Trump description: Anti-Donald Trump wing of the GOP gets a boost as Ted Cruz and John Kasich said their campaigns will coordinate in the coming primaries. canonical: https://time.com/4306258/charles-koch-for-hillary-clinton/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-25T13:09:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:00:01.709Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz and John Kasich are Uniting to Block Donald Trump og:description: Anti-Donald Trump wing of the GOP gets a boost as Ted Cruz and John Kasich said their campaigns will coordinate in the coming primaries. og:url: https://time.com/4306258/charles-koch-for-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz and John Kasich are Uniting to Block Donald Trump twitter:description: Anti-Donald Trump wing of the GOP gets a boost as Ted Cruz and John Kasich said their campaigns will coordinate in the coming primaries. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Charles Koch for Hillary Clinton? by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 25, 2016 1:09 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 25, 2016 1:09 PM UTC Collusion! After weeks of attempts and upsets, the hopes of the anti-**Donald Trump** wing of the GOP scored a boost Sunday night as **Ted Cruz** and **John Kasich** announced their campaigns would coordinate in the coming contests to better allocate their resources to stop Trump. In simultaneous statements, the campaigns announced that Cruz would focus on Indiana’s primary next week, while Kasich would be the preferred candidate in Oregon and New Mexico. But make no mistake, the development is truly about Indiana’s contest, in which the candidate with a plurality in each congressional district and statewide wins delegates—providing a key opportunity to keep delegates away from Trump and slow his path to 1,237\. As one might expect, Trump was none to pleased, calling it “[desperation](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/724442801933565952)” and a sign of weakness. The cooperation—long sought by the Kasich campaign—comes as both Trump rivals are mathematically eliminated from reaching a delegate majority on the first ballot. The Cruz campaign approached Kasich aides on the sidelines of the Republican National Committee last week, ironing out the details in phone calls over the weekend. The news was announced days after Trump’s rout in New York and before an expectedly strong showing by the front-runner in the northeastern primaries in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Connecticut on Tuesday. Trump’s path to 1,237 is complicated by his poor showing among the dozens of free agents already selected to attend the RNC. Unlike Democrats, who have super-delegates, only about 5% of GOP convention attendees are able to vote for the candidate of their choosing on the first ballot—a critical slice of the delegate electorate who could put Trump over the top if he falls short, or stand united to deny him the nomination. According to a TIME survey, Cruz holds an overwhelming lead among these unbound delegates who have already been selected for the convention. But that universe will double Tuesday, when Pennsylvania elects their congressional district delegates directly on the ballot. Cruz, meanwhile, had a another successful weekend of infiltrating Trump’s delegate haul with supporters loyal to him. **Bernie Sanders** isn’t committing to aggressively backing **Hillary Clinton** after she locks down the Democratic nomination, saying it will depend on her platform. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus fired a shot at the #NeverTrump forces within the GOP, calling them an enemy to party unity that threatens to hand the White House to Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s closing message before this week’s northeast contests is one of “[love and kindness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHp69F7vrLU&list=PLt9jO9QkAAofYCfhjpEdDLtpvHnnbmr6I&index=58)” in a new ad. And a Koch Brother for Clinton? Here are your must-reads: **Must Reads** [Ted Cruz and John Kasich Are Uniting To Block Donald Trump ](http://time.com/4306047/cruz-kasich-unite-block-trump-gop-election-2016/)The move fulfills a longstanding wish of anti-Trump forces within the GOP \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Losing Unbound Delegate Race to Ted Cruz ](http://time.com/4303264/donald-trump-ted-cruz-convention-unbound/)TIME survey finds the front-runner in trouble among convention free-agents [Why Donald Trump Thinks He Shouldn’t Have to Testify in University Lawsuit ](http://time.com/4304255/donald-trump-university-lawsuit-trial-hearing-case/)TIME’s Philip Elliott on Trump’s novel legal argument [The Problem With Bernie Sanders’ Polling Argument ](http://time.com/4305514/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-general-election-polls/)General election polls have little meaning this far out, TIME’s Sam Frizell explains [Ted Cruz Outflanks Donald Trump in Weekend Delegate Battle ](http://www.wsj.com/articles/ted-cruz-outflanks-donald-trump-in-weekend-delegate-battle-1461544064)Senator’s supporters secure delegate slots in Maine and Utah \[Wall Street Journal\] [Bernie Sanders and Allies Aim to Shape Democrats’ Agenda After Primaries ](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/us/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign.html?ref=politics)His White House chances fading, Sanders plans for a lasting impact \[New York Times\] **Sound Off** “Well, that is totally dependent on what the Clinton platform is and how she responds to the needs of millions of Americans who are sick and tired of establishment politics and establishment economics.” — Bernie Sanders on whether he would work to support Hillary Clinton if she secures the Democratic nomination “We were talking about evolving the campaign, not the candidate.” — Trump convention manager Paul Manafort on his [comments](http://time.com/4304335/donald-trump-gop-elite-rnc/) suggesting Trump would evolve as a candidate **Bits and Bites** [GOP Chairman Rejects #NeverTrump Movement](http://time.com/4304829/reince-priebus-never-trump-republican-national-committee-convention/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Tones Down the Bombast on the Campaign Trail](http://time.com/4305591/donald-trump-campaign-shuffle/) \[TIME\] [Hillary Clinton Says Harriet Tubman Is a Symbol for America](http://time.com/4305920/hillary-clinton-harriet-tubman-20-bill/) \[TIME\] [It’s ‘Possible’ Hillary Clinton Could Be Better President than GOP Pick, Charles Koch Says](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-president-gop-pick-charles-koch/story?id=38622141) \[ABC\] [President Obama Urges Young Brits to Reject ‘Isolationism’ and ‘Xenophobia’](http://time.com/4305723/president-obama-urges-young-brits-to-reject-isolationism-and-xenophobia/) \[TIME\] [Obama Listened to ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘Delirious’ to Remember Prince](http://time.com/4305070/obama-prince-death-london-purple-rain/) \[TIME\] [President Obama: Mississippi and North Carolina LGBT Laws ‘Should Be Overturned’](http://time.com/4305058/barack-obama-lgbt-north-carolina-mississippi/) \[TIME\] [Obama Explains Why He Removed Churchill Bust from Oval Office](http://time.com/4305062/obama-churchill-bust-oval-office/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Renews Attacks on Ted Cruz’s Presidential Eligibility](http://time.com/4305738/donald-trump-ted-cruz-canadian-birth-eligibility/) \[TIME\] [In This Snapchat Campaign, Election News Is Big and Then It’s Gone](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/business/media/snapchat-election-campaign-news.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&%5Fr=0&referer=) \[New York Times\] [White House Poised to Release Secret Pages From 9/11 Inquiry](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/white-house-poised-release-secret-pages-911-inquiry-38631700) \[Associated Press\] [Meet the Man the White House Has Honored for Deporting Illegal Immigrants](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/04/25/meet-the-man-the-white-house-has-honored-for-deporting-illegal-immigrants/) \[Washington Post\] [Campaign’s Populist Tone Rankles America’s CEOs](http://www.wsj.com/articles/campaigns-populist-tone-rankles-americas-ceos-1461542822) \[Wall Street Journal\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4306258/charles-koch-for-hillary-clinton/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4306258/charles-koch-for-hillary-clinton/"},"headline":"Charles Koch for Hillary Clinton?","datePublished":"2016-04-25T13:09:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:00:01.709Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: April 25","url":"https://time.com/4306258/charles-koch-for-hillary-clinton/","keywords":["Morning Must 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