Wisconsin is the prize the two leading Republican presidential candidates can't afford to lose. And pre-polling days before Tuesday's contest has found Ted Cruz may have an edge.
A CBS poll has found 43 percent of Wisconsin voters side with Cruz, while Donald Trump sits at 37 percent.
"Wisconsin's really tailor-made for someone like Cruz. His strength all along has been he does very well with the very conservative. And that's what most Republicans in Wisconsin say that they are," CBS' director of elections said.
Nationwide, Cruz trails Trump by more than 270 delegates. But Republican rules in Wisconsin give Cruz a good opportunity to win all, or most, of the state's 42 delegates.
It's an opportunity he needs to capitalize on, considering Trump leads in the upcoming New York and Pennsylvania primaries by roughly 20 percent in each. The two states are worth 166 delegates combined.
If Cruz does win all or most of Wisconsin, though, statistical news site FiveThirtyEight predicts it could be enough to keep Trump from winning the majority of delegates he needs to take the Republican nomination outright.
And following a week of controversies for Trump, Politico reports more than 100 delegates are ready to break away from Trump if the Republican convention goes to a second ballot –– and a second round of voting is likely if the convention is contested.
This video includes clips from Ted Cruz, CBS, CNN, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and Fox News, and images from Getty Images.
