The Cruz slate won virtually all of the 28 at-large national delegates and roughly split the 27 delegates selected by congressional district.
Former Gov. Jan Brewer, losing her first election in 35 years, angrily yelled "I got cheated — I got cheated," as the results became known.
But Cruz's Arizona campaign organizer says simple math led to the at-large victory. Cruz offered a nearly identical slate of candidates as John Kasich backers, and the combined votes led to a win.
The victory was mainly strategic for Cruz since all 58 Arizona delegates are required to vote for Trump on the first national ballot because he won the state's primary. There are three automatic delegates, including state party Chairman Robert Graham.
State Treasurer Jeff DeWit, who chairs Trump's Arizona campaign, said a challenge is possible after calls for a revote were rejected by the party.