Donald Trump – who has strong ties to Sin City, including a hotel that towers over the strip with his name on it – stands out as the front-runner with 39 percent of likely voters supporting him.
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In an email Saturday night, John Weaver, Kasich’s strategist, didn’t mince words, asserting that the results effectively end the campaigns of Bush and Ben Carson who was in a distant sixth with 7 percent.
In South Carolina, Trump the NY billionaire staved off mainstream party rivals as well as the Iowa victor, Texas Sen.
When asked about his loss to Donald Trump in the Nevada caucus on Tuesday on “Fox and Friends”, Rubio noted that “this is an unusual election”. Those delegates will be awarded proportionally.
“If it doesn’t consolidate before March 15, when all of a sudden the Republican primaries become victor take all, it’s going to be a disaster for the party moderates”, O’Connell said.
Rubio could use help from Charleston and Hilton Head, coastal areas where GOP establishment candidates can perform better.
After Nevada, both candidates will have a week to campaign in SC.
Of the trio with looming home-state primaries, Cruz may be in the strongest position.
“They keep forgetting that when people drop out, we’re going to get a lot of votes”, he said. “Tonight, I’ll sleep in my bed for the first time in a month”.
Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush are fighting to establish themselves as credible alternatives to Trump and Cruz, candidates some GOP leaders believe are unelectable in November. In South Carolina, Trump had a 10 point margin of victory over Rubio.
Rubio enjoyed the support of Nevada’s Republican governor, Republican senator, two of the state’s three Republican congressmen, and the editorial board of Nevada’s largest newspaper. Winning one or more of them is possible. Bush also was building a Florida operation and some of that may flow to Rubio. If Trump falters, blame will be placed on his critical comments during last Saturday’s debate about former President George W. Bush’s role in the 2001 terror attacks and his off-color language.
Cruz strategist Jason Johnson released a memo arguing that if Rubio’s hopes are built around winning Florida, that won’t work because nearly half of the delegates needed to win the nomination will have been awarded by then.
“Maybe it’s that Senator Sanders wasn’t really a Democrat until he made a decision to run for president”. It will air over the weekend in SC and nationally.
SC was the final disappointment for Bush, who campaigned alongside members of his famous family, which remains popular in the state.
Texas may not have a decisive victor, unless the top candidate can get a majority of the votes cast statewide and in each congressional district. Republicans have no such gimmicks, since the delegates are not awarded based on caucus sites. He also stars in an ad released Saturday that calls Cruz “what conservatives in Nevada right now are hungry for”.
“So far he’s been very nice and I think I’ve been very nice to him”, he said of Rubio, though he cautioned that he sees Rubio as “inexperienced” and “young”.
“He’s a native-son candidate”, GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak said.
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“Gov. Kasich understands the economy in MI”. His bid for the nomination is already a longshot and whatever viability he might have now surely would vanish if he faltered in Ohio. He has a chance with S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s recent endorsement and rising poll numbers, some of which show him challenging Cruz for second.
