Delegate fight

Trump readies for delegate fight

By Nick Gass

Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for a fierce fight over delegates, announcing on Tuesday that he will open an office in Washington to coordinate with Republicans on the national level, and firing off a testy tweet about unfair treatment by the Republican Party and the Republican National Committee.

"I have millions more votes/hundreds more dels than Cruz or Kasich, and yet am not being treated properly by the Republican Party or the RNC," Trump wrote Tuesday morning.

The tweet came minutes before Trump officially announced that he had picked Paul Manafort to lead his campaign's convention efforts, signifying that the Republican front-runner is taking the fight over delegates more seriously.

“Paul is a great asset and an important addition as we consolidate the tremendous support we have received in the primaries and caucuses, garnering millions more votes than any other candidate," Trump said in a statement. "Paul Manafort, and the team I am building, bring the needed skill sets to ensure that the will of the Republican voters, not the Washington political establishment, determines who will be the nominee for the Republican Party. I look forward to winning the nomination, and ultimately the presidency in order to Make America Great Again."

Manafort, in the same statement, characterized his role as one "to protect the victories that [Trump] has won in states across the country."

"I am confident that he will be the Republican nominee and the next President of the United States," added Manafort, who served in a similar role for Ronald Reagan in the 1980 convention and spearheaded efforts for George H.W. Bush in 1988 and Bob Dole in 1996.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich unveiled his own convention advisers earlier this month, including Charlie Black, whose political relationship with Manafort goes back to the 1970s.