Cruz Campaign Accuses Kasich of Fraud in Montana

Ted Cruz speaks at a free public rally before the Wisconsin primary in Madison, Wisconsin.

Ted Cruz has ramped up his crusade to make the GOP presidential race a two-man contest…

Reports surfaced yesterday that the Cruz campaign is pushing to have Ohio Gov. John Kasich knocked off Montana's June 7 primary ballot. The Associated Press had obtained emails that revealed these assertions and released them yesterday.

The messages were discussing the 500-signature requirement a candidate must meet to make it onto the ballot in a Montana primary election. They questioned Kasich's ability to procure them…

Cruz Campaign: Drop Kasich from Montana Ballot

While Kasich outwardly appears to have met the necessary signature minimum, Cruz believes many of those "John Hancocks" were forged. The Texas Senator noted that some of Kasich's signatures contained invalid notaries, improper dates, mismatched phone numbers, and illegible names.

"There is a reasonable probability that material defects with [Kasich's] petitions reduce the number of valid signatures below the required minimum," Cruz's campaign stated, according to The Associated Press, "and [he] is therefore not eligible for placement on the ballot."

Cruz, however, has not yet filed a legal challenge to have Kasich's name removed from the Treasure State's ticket.

Were he to do so and effectively win this challenge, Montana's 27 delegates would become available to Cruz and to current GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Twenty-seven delegates is just a tiny portion of the 1,237 needed to secure the Republican Party's nomination, but the challenge itself highlights how high the stakes are in this ever-evolving 2016 presidential race.

Is the Cruz campaign's push to oust Kasich in Montana just another swing in the dark to tighten the GOP race? Tell us what you think on Twitter @moneymorning, or like us on Facebook.

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• The Associated Press: Emails: Cruz Camp Pushing to Oust Kasich from Montana Ballot