By Eric Stock

CHICAGO – Donald Trump increased his lead in the delegate count in the Republican race for the presidential nomination after winning primaries on Tuesday in Illinois, Florida, North Carolina and possibly Missouri, but it’s possible he will still fall short of the delegates needed before the party convention in July.

Republican party strategist Pat Brady. a delegate for John Kasich, told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin that could lead to a free-for-all.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Brady on WJBC. 

“It’s going to be good old-time fun,” Brady quipped. “There’s never been a floor fight like this because the brokered conventions in the old days, the last time was in 1948, is just a bunch of guys in a back room making the decisions.

This is actually delegates on the floor who are going to have to be persuaded one way or another.”

Brady said why it’s actually more important to vote for a candidate’s delegates than the candidate. He said with Marco Rubio dropping out of the race, the other candidates are going to trying to lure his delegates to support them. Brady even entertained the idea of House Speaker Paul Ryan being swept in as the GOP nominee, saying he would be a ‘breath of fresh air’ for the party.

Trump has said there would be ‘riots’ if he’s not the GOP nominee.

Brady said Democrat Hillary Clinton’s narrow win in Illinois is something that should concern her supporters.

“She’s a weak candidate. If she can’t win her home state, the state she was born in. She barely won,” Brady conceded.

Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders by about 35,000 votes in Illinois, as part of an apparent five-state sweep that moves her closer to the Democratic nomination.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].