Clinton, who still faces a well-funded Sanders despite having taken control of the Democratic race, was eager to assail Trump as a way of getting Democratic voters used to the idea of her as the nominee. “We have two candidates who that did a lot of that, and they were the ones that came out ahead”. “Trying to divide America between us and them is wrong, and we’re not going to let it work”, she said, as the crowd broke out in chants of “USA”.
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Opinion polls heading into the voting had shown Trump leading in most of the 12 states up for grabs, raising the possibility of a big night that would intensify worries among Republican leaders who fear the billionaire could inflict long-term damage on the party. But Tuesday’s results did little to clarify which of two senators _ Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio _ might emerge as Trump’s main Republican rival, with both vowing to fight on despite weak performances. “Although many now see a Trump nomination as an inevitability, I think it would be a mistake to underestimate the commitment of a large part of the Republican Party, probably a significant majority, to stop Trump”.
The notion that the Republican field might yet shrink and the anti-Trump voters line up behind a single candidate such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio pretty much collapsed Tuesday when the primary results gave all of them a reason to stay in the race.
This could all change on March 15 in the Florida primary – his home state – where the victor will claim all the delegates.
In the Democratic race, Clinton has faced a tougher-than-expected challenge from Sanders, who has energized supporters with his calls for a “political revolution” and denunciations of America’s wealth gap. But Sanders has struggled to expand his base beyond young people and liberals. Sanders notched wins in his tiny home state of Vermont, Oklahoma, Colorado and in Minnesota. Cruz has had success in four states, but his theory about Evangelical Christians – who they are and why they vote – has been discredited, so what is the new theory by which he wins the nomination?
But he’s still a way behind his Democratic rival, as Clinton holds at least 1,005 delegates compared with his 373. Sanders had at least 373.
Cruz won at least 99 of the 155 delegates at stake in Texas. Clinton also won in the South Pacific island chain of American Samoa.
Nonwhite voters were less likely than white voters to support Trump, but they accounted for just 13 percent of the GOP primary voters across the nine states. She was also bolstered by women and older voters.
Trump’s victories were widespread, from Alabama and Georgia in the deep south, to MA in the northeast, to the vital battleground state of Virginia.
While not giving up on beating Trump before July, both the Cruz and Rubio camps concede that their best opportunity could come at a contested convention.
Clinton has amassed 1,001 of the 2,383 delegates she needs to secure the nomination.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has yet to win a state but said Tuesday he is not “not ready to quit”.
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Representative Scott Rigell of Virginia has appealed to fellow Republicans in the state to reject Trump, calling him “a bully unworthy of our nomination”. Instead, he’s appeared to only grow stronger, winning states and drawing support for some of his most controversial proposals. Nine in 10 of Trump’s voters were looking for an outsider, and half were angry with the government, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
