Not mission impossible now

Donald Trump's path to victory in the Republican presidential nomination race, dismissed as inconceivable by many in the run up to the primaries, is actually appearing more credible, political experts said Thursday.

Can he secure the 1,237 delegates needed to prevail and avoid a chaotic contested convention?

It is no longer a mission impossible, but he will need to thread the needle if he is to be the Republican who challenges the likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in November.

Winner-take-all Indiana, which votes next on May 3, will be key. And California, the largest state in the union, which votes June 7 on the last day of Republican primaries, is absolutely crucial.

"If we win Indiana, it's over," a confident Trump, 69, told a rally in Evansville Thursday.

After the celebrity billionaire crushed his opposition by sweeping all five states that held primaries Tuesday, the nomination was increasingly being seen as Trump's to lose.

The math may be formidable, but it is doable. Trump currently stands at 991 delegates, 80 percent of what he needs.

Ten of the 50 states have yet to vote, including Indiana and California.

Of the remaining 502 delegates up for grabs, Trump needs 49 percent. Essentially, if he maintains the same level of voter support in the remaining contests he has had so far, victory is assured.

"I think he can likely get to 1,237," Christine Barbour of Indiana University at Bloomington said of Trump, adding "I'd say they (Cruz and Kasich) are in for the duration and we won't know anything until California."

A New York Times projection says Trump will probably secure as many as 1,289 delegates, including 154 of California's huge trove of 172 delegates.