As I type, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is announcing his endorsement of Ted Cruz, obviously timed to give Cruz a boost in advance of Tuesday's Indiana primary and also to stunt all the it's-over-Trump-is-the-nominee talk that followed Trump's mid-Atlantic sweep this week:

At his Indianapolis campaign stop Friday, Cruz praised Pence. "I will say this: I have tremendous respect for Gov. Mike Pence," Cruz said, with his choice for vice president, Carly Fiorina, standing at this side. "He has been an incredible leader for the state of Indiana. He has really demonstrated that when you cut taxes, when you reducse regulations, that jobs follow." Conservative backers such as Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Rep. Steve King and Bob Vander Plaats in Iowa have helped Cruz win other Midwestern contests. But in Indiana, he hasn't had an influential supporter to campaign alongside him -- a particularly glaring absence as Trump holds events alongside legendary former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight.

During the endorsement announcement, Pence actually said he likes and respects all three candidates, and went out of his way to compliment Trump for giving a voice to people who are frustrated. So it wasn't exactly stop Trump or we'll all die, which makes sense because Trump could very well end up the nominee. But he did endorse Cruz. I'm not sure if Pence is more influential in Indiana than Bobby Knight (or if anyone is for that matter), but this is the type of support that made a big difference for Cruz when Scott Walker offered it in Wisconsin. At stake in Indiana are 57 delegates, awarded on a congressional district basis. So the plurality winner of each district gets all that district's delegates, but you'd have to win all nine districts to get all 57. For Cruz, who is racing against time to keep Trump under 1,237 before the July convention, every little bit counts. But he really needs a strong performance in Indiana after what happened this week, or there simply aren't going to be enough chances left to keep Trump under the magic number. The latest Indiana poll is from Clout Research, and it has Trump leading Cruz 37-35, with about 32 percent of respondents saying they're not all that committed to their positions. Indiana won't decide the nomination, but if it doesn't go Cruz's way, it won't leave many options left for how Cruz can stop Trump from heading into the convention with 1,237 already in his pocket.

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