John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Advertisement
But in a silver lining for Florida Sen. He also did extremely well among those who want the next president to come from outside the political establishment, getting 70 percent of this group’s vote.
After a presumed loss in the Nevada caucuses, Sen.
The property mogul is on a roll after winning primaries in New Hampshire and SC. The New York Times reports the mood at his rally in the Treasure Island casino was jubilant, with his supporters brandishing “Trump signs and flags and a few Bud Lights”.
About 5 percent of likely Republican primary voters in Florida are undecided, and 30 poercent of likely GOP voters who name a candidate say they might change their mind before the primary.
With three consecutive victories under his belt, Mr. Trump heads into Super Tuesday on March 1 – when 11 states will have their primaries or caucuses – that could irreversibly set the course of the nomination process. Winning one or more of them is possible. Ted Cruz, who has campaigned hard for their support. Cruz had to fire the public face of his campaign, communications manager Rick Tyler, for social media posts falsely alleging Rubio mocked the Bible.
Mr Trump, a billionaire businessman and reality TV star, took to Twitter as polls opened on Tuesday night to encourage voters to turn out and cast ballots for him, taking a jab at Mr Cruz, whom he has continually described as dishonest. “We weren’t expected to win too much and now we’re winning, winning, winning the country”, Trump said. “It’s going to be an incredible two months”, he said. Rubio was supported by about half those who cared most about electability. Kasich and Carson could play spoilers as Trump, Cruz and Rubio, battle for delegates with an increasing sense of urgency. He said his supporters were so loyal he “could stand in the Middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters”.
Cruz and Rubio have been bashing each other in recent days in an effort to establish themselves as Trump’s strongest rival.
Experts said the focus was on whether Rubio and Cruz would be able to slow Trump’s momentum and which of the two candidates would come in second.
Trump has said his accountants are working on his returns and that he’ll release them eventually.
Advertisement
Jobs and the economy were cited by 29 per cent of voters as the most important issue, followed by government spending at 27 per cent, immigration at 21 per cent and terrorism at 19 per cent.
