Ballot Boxing: Despite world woes and campaign lows, it's still Good Friday

Welcome to Ballot Boxing, WORLD’s political roundup of news and views from the presidential campaign trail.

Call it a much-welcomed spring break: The coming week brings a momentary pause in the Republican presidential primaries until the candidates face off again in Wisconsin on April 5.

But if voters take a short breather from presidential politics, the candidates won’t. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is in Wisconsin today, where his campaign is treating the state similar to Iowa: a do-or-die moment in a must-win state.

Cruz already has spent days barnstorming Wisconsin, and the campaign has recruited out-of-state volunteers to live and breathe the effort for the next 10 days. The volunteers are staying in a hotel dubbed “Camp Cruz.”

The senator certainly could (and likely would) continue his campaign if he loses Wisconsin (and most of its 42 delegates) to front-runner Donald Trump, or if he splits the vote with Ohio Gov. John Kasich. But Cruz is taking a gamble by raising high expectations in the hopes he will raise his vote count.

Meanwhile, a more stealth battle unfolds behind the scenes: Cruz’s campaign is trying to trump the front-runner on state levels by maneuvering to gain spots on committees that will hold powerful sway over rules and delegates at the Republican National Convention this summer.

That will be a crucial advantage if no candidate gains enough delegates to claim the nomination before the Republicans gather in Cleveland.

The Wall Street Journal reports Cruz’s supporters have seized five of six slots on such committees in Louisiana, and that Cruz could end up with 10 more delegates from the state than Trump, even though Trump won Louisiana by 3.6 percentage points.

It’s a fascinating look at how ground game still matters in states that have already held primaries. The Journal reported:

“Kay Kellogg Katz, a Trump supporter who sought unsuccessfully to win a position on a key panel at the convention, summarized the Trump campaign’s predicament this way: ‘I do not know Mr. Trump, I do not know his staff people. Quite frankly, we don’t have much of a campaign in Louisiana. All we have is voters.’”

Kasich’s campaign is well aware of the delegate dance over the next few months, particularly in Northeastern states where the Ohio governor could play well to moderate voters.

Longtime political observer Henry Olsen says not to count out Kasich just yet. In an interview with WORLD’s Marvin Olasky, Olsen outlined a range of possibilities that could keep the race wide open for the foreseeable future.

For now, the already-low-brow race continues to take demoralizing turns. Trump insulted Cruz’s wife this week, and Cruz warned, “Leave Heidi the hell alone.”

It’s a reminder of how Trump has obliterated campaign taboos (like insulting an opponent’s spouse) and the quandary offended candidates face: walking the tightrope between defending their honor and feeding the negative attention of a bully.

We’ll choose to minimize the negative attention this week by remembering that despite the many sorrows of the world—from brutal terror attacks in Brussels to kindly nuns facing government opposition over their desire to help the poor while upholding their religious convictions—today is still a Good Friday.

That’s not because there’s no bad in the world, but because the greatest good triumphs over the greatest evil in the end. As the hymn writer remembering Christ’s death on the cross said, “Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood / Sealed my pardon with his blood.”

Hallelujah, what a Savior.