The race for the White House made a stop here in Maryland Monday.
Ted Cruz held a rally at The American Legion in Towson. Although there were several Trump supporters in the crowd, the hundreds who showed up to support Cruz overshadowed them.
Cruz went so far as to say that Maryland can now be considered a battleground state and it was clear by Monday's turnout that he certainly has supporters here. But maybe even more important is why all the candidates are making stops in our area.
It comes down to delegates and timing.
"Usually by the time we get to Maryland, it's already decided, someone's already got the delegates and they're already the presumptive nominee,." Towson University political science professor Anthony Campbell said.
But that's not the case for election 2016.
"We don't know who the nominees is going to be and in fact come July we still may not know who the nominee is going to be," Campbell said.
And candidates like Ted Cruz are taking advantage of that.
"Maryland is a battleground. Maryland is going to have an outsized voice as the nation is looking to Maryland to decide," Cruz said.
Cruz spoke to a crowd of more than 200, hoping to get the voters to back him.
"Do we nominate Trump and hand the election to Hillary Clinton or do we unite behind the Cruz campaign and beat Hillary Clinton?" the senator said.
Cruz touched on all the hot-button topics topics he says voters are most concerned about.
"We're going to repeal Obamacare, pass a flat tax, reign in the regulators, stop amnesty that's going to create millions and millions of high paying jobs," he said.
That goes along with his campaign's "Freedom, Jobs, Security" platform.
And it resonated with the voters.
"I want to be able to vote for someone who knows what to do and how to do it and who's not full of bluster," said one voter.
"He's a very strong defender of the Constitution, and I think he's very principled. What he says, he believes," voter Bill Smith said.
While details on Donald Trump's Maryland visit haven't been revealed, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is heading to Annapolis for a rally Tuesday night.
The official Maryland primary is Tuesday, April 26.
Download the ABC2 News app for the iPhone, Kindle and Android.
