I'm not sure if you've heard, but a GOP presidential contender must reach 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination.
Obviously you know that number because it is repeated multiple times a day by hosts, pundits and experts on just about every news show on television.
This horse race is pretty exciting for political wonks like me, and the news networks hope that it stays competitive so people keep watching.
Advertisement - story continues below
Unfortunately for the news networks, this race for the GOP nomination will only last about another month.
Donald Trump won't reach 1,237 by then, but at that point, no one but Trump will have a mathematical chance at reaching that coveted number of delegates.
TRENDING: Voters blame Biden for border crisis, ready to punish Democrats, poll says
Right now, the delegate count has Donald Trump in a comfortable lead with 678 delegates. Ted Cruz is at 473, and John Kasich has 143.
There are 1,049 delegates remaining in the states that have yet to hold primaries or caucuses.
Advertisement - story continues below
John Kasich cannot reach 1,237 even if he won every remaining delegate. No one knows the exact reason why he is still in the race, but most believe it has something to do with trying to force a brokered convention by taking enough delegates away from Trump and Cruz so they do not reach 1,237 either.
Ted Cruz has to win another 764 delegates to reach 1,237. That means he would have to win 73 percent of the remaining 1,049 delegates still up for grabs in upcoming contests.
Donald Trump has to win 559 more delegates to get to 1,237. He needs to win 53 percent of the remaining 1,049 delegates to secure the nomination before the convention.
That does not mean he has to win 53 percent of the vote.
Advertisement - story continues below
This upcoming Tuesday, Arizona will award 58 delegates when it holds its primary, and Utah will pledge 40 delegates at its caucuses that day. Donald Trump is expected to easily win Arizona, and Ted Cruz is expected to win Utah by a very large margin.
If that happens, Trump wins all of Arizona's 58 delegates and Cruz wins Utah's 40.
That gives Trump 59 percent of the 98 delegates awarded that day, and Cruz walks away with 41 percent. That is on track for Trump to secure the nomination, and it is far short of what Cruz needs to continue a path to the nomination.
In April, the primaries move to the Northeast. New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island will award 267 delegates, and most are expected to go to Trump.
Advertisement - story continues below
After those contests in April, Cruz will be approaching the point where he will need to win every delegate remaining to reach 1,237.
Cruz will likely drop out, or take a deal to work with Trump, or the establishment, in exchange for something he wants. I don't believe Cruz dislikes Donald Trump more than he dislikes the establishment, but we will see what happens when we reach that point.
This week, I joined the "Cashin' In" crew on Fox News to talk about the millions of dollars being spent against Trump by establishment Republicans in an attempt to keep Trump from reaching 1,237 delegates.
The media want a horse race all the way until the convention so people keep watching.
As a political junkie, I must admit that I am enjoying what is the most exciting political season of my lifetime, but I also must admit that I don't think we will see this primary last more than four or five more weeks.
The only question that remains is whether or not the establishment GOP will realize that fighting against the will of the voters will not only fail, but will further fracture the party.
The establishment isn't used to losing, and it is stunningly tone deaf. Those who continue to inject their own will over that of the voters expose their narcissism, and that is more fodder for wonks like me who love to break it all down!
