There Are Still Primaries Left, Y'all

Yes, y'all, it's still going. Although it seems like a lifetime since Feb. 1, which kicked off the vigorous primary and caucus schedule, there are still a handful of contests left before we charge into the general election in November. But how many primaries are left before the Democrats and Republicans start going head to head?

Although the bulk of the important contests were scheduled toward the beginning of the primary schedule, there are still a few important dates to note. Out of the 14 contests left, six of them will be held on June 7, including the mammoth delegate state of California, which offers up 546 delegates for the Democrats and 172 for the Republicans. There's also a pretty good grab in New Jersey, which has the second-highest delegate count of the day at 142 blue delegates and 51 red. And yes, you guessed it, June 7 is a Tuesday, which I'm sure will be super. Sigh.

That's the last date that will have more than two primaries scheduled on one day, but that doesn't mean that there isn't fun to be had in other primary races. Republican candidates in particular have already turned their focus to Indiana, which holds its contests on May 3 (also a Tuesday). There are 92 delegates up for grabs for Democrats and 57 for Republicans, which Ted Cruz is particularly hungry for.

The gap between May 3 and June 7, however, is pretty uneventful, unless you're dying to know the results of West Virginia or Puerto Rico's primary election. (I'm kidding! You're all special snowflakes.) The low-delegate states (the highest outside of California is Indiana) won't do much to change the outcome of the election, which, barring a huge shakeup, has come down to Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Donald Trump for the Republicans.

But for Republicans in particular, the 14 contests left are still important if it happens to go to a contested convention. Any delegates that Ted Cruz or John Kasich can scrounge away from Trump will lend more credibility and leverage to the idea that they would be the best choice for the party if Trump fails to reach the 1,237-delegate threshold on the first ballot. But even if either of them makes a strong showing in the states (Cruz is currently leading by double digits in Indiana), it's unclear if that will be enough to stop Trump.