How Presidential Campaigns Are Wooing Top Republican Delegates in Florida

Hollywood, FL -- As top Republicans descended on the Diplomat Hotel Resort & Spa beachside resort in Florida this week for their spring meeting, presidential hopefuls and their campaigns closely followed, hoping to convince the committee members to back their candidate at a potential contested convention.

All 168 members of the Republican National Committee will be delegates in Cleveland, and roughly two dozen of them are free to support whomever they choose on the first ballot there.

“In the end, these are the leaders in every state that will affect people on the second and third ballots,” said Saul Anuzis, a former RNC member and part of Sen. Ted Cruz’s delegate team.

Cruz and Gov. John Kasich made the trip to Florida in person to meet with delegates, while Trump sent his newly crowned delegate czar Paul Manafort.

Here’s how each campaign is aiming to win over these crucial party leaders:

Donald Trump

Huddling in a meeting room Thursday evening in the luxurious resort, Trump’s two new top strategists Paul Manafort and Rick Wiley mingled with party leaders over hors d'oeuvres, reassuring the RNC that Trump is not at war with the party and that he will begin to run a more traditional campaign, according to sources inside the room.

According to meeting attendees, the focus was not on the path to 1,237 delegates needed to secure the GOP nomination, but rather on how the campaign is building a plan to “extend the map,” with Manafort and Wiley assuring members that Trump will be the party's nominee.

In addition, Manafort and Wiley emphasized that Trump will help raise money for the RNC in the general election, according to a source in the room.

After the 57-minute meeting -- which included surrogate Ben Carson -- Manafort told reporters that the campaign has faith in the party and expressed a willingness to work together.

“These are Republicans, so we are comfortable we will be able to work with the Republican systems,” Manafort said, telling reporters the campaign will be working with state parties to build a plan to expand the campaign’s reach.

A senior adviser to Trump said the presentation “well done, but not polished,” giving it a B rating.

Ted Cruz

Cruz held four intimate meetings with small groups of RNC officials, hoping to convince them that his campaign has the grassroots support and organization to win in November.

In addition to the Texas senator coming to Florida for a day, several of his campaign leaders also made the trip to Florida. “We made a pretty serious commitment here,” Anuzis said. “It just shows how important we think this is. And since I think there is a growing consensus that this race is going to be determined on the second or third ballot, it’s an important factor to be there.”

In the meetings, Cruz took questions about issues and his campaign’s general election chances.

“He would also like to hear your thoughts about the general election in your state, and to share with you how he intends to beat Hillary Clinton in the fall,” read an email obtained by ABC News inviting RNC members to attend, urging them to book quickly because “the meeting rooms are small.”

John Kasich

Members of the Ohio GOP invited RNC committee members to attend a reception with John Kasich on Wednesday, where he gave brief remarks about unifying the party, thanked the committee members, and mingled with approximately 100 attendees, according to someone who attended.

Kasich additionally held private meetings over the course of three hours with more than a dozen delegates from over a dozen states and territories.

Of the three GOP candidates, Kasich’s path to the nomination depends the most on multiple rounds of voting at a convention. Trump has the best chance of clinching the nomination on the first ballot, and with Cruz looking like the strongest contender for victory on the second ballot, Kasich’s camp is banking on the third round.

“Nobody’s going to get to 1,237 on the first ballot,” Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, who hosted Kasich’s reception, told ABC News. “Our job as party leaders is to win the election in November. And every poll says John Kasich wins this race.”