People were surprised by how well Ted Cruz did.
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She says, “It wasn’t a close call”. “If you want someone who will stand up and defend your values and interests, here I am”. “He is a successful businessman”.
Four more states – Maine, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana – were set to deliver verdicts on the fractious Republican race with 155 delegate votes. Bernie Sanders picked up wins in the Nebraska and Kansas caucuses, but Hillary Clinton captured the Louisiana primary which has more delegates.
“The map only gets friendlier for us after tonight”, Rubio told reporters during a trip to Puerto Rico, which holds a Republican primary on Sunday.
“The scream you hear, the howl that comes from Washington, D.C., is utter terror at what we the people are doing together”, Cruz, the senator from Texas, said in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, speaking shortly after his projected victory was announced.
The Texas senator split contests with Trump in Saturday’s voting, bolstering his argument that only he can defeat the real estate mogul.
Kim Reem, a member of the executive committee of the National Federation of Republican Women, said both Trump and Cruz were polarizing figures within their party. John McCain – are fearful a Trump victory would lead to a disastrous November election, with losses up and down the Republican ticket.
“Everyone’s trying to figure out how to stop Trump”, the billionaire marveled at an afternoon rally in Orlando, Florida, where he had supporters raise their hands and swear to vote for him. Despite strong support from the GOP establishment, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has claimed only one win so far in the race and is now facing a must win contest in Florida on March 15.
Mr Cruz added 64 delegates to his tally during the night, while Mr Trump gained 49.
Sanders won by solid margins in Nebraska and Kansas, giving him seven victories so far in the nominating season, compared to 11 for Clinton, who still maintains a commanding lead in competition for delegates.
Trump and so-called Trumpism represent an amalgam of long-festering economic, cultural and racial dissatisfaction among a swath of left-out Americans who do not fit easily into the ideological pigeonholes of red and blue, right and left.
“I would like to take on Ted one-on-one”, he said, ticking off a list of big states where he said Cruz had no chance.
Count Wichita’s Barb Berry among those who propelled Cruz to victory in Kansas, where GOP officials reported extremely high turnout.
The problem for the Republican Party establishment is that Senator Cruz is unpopular with this senate colleagues, and viewed by many strategists as too extreme a social conservative to win a general election. Like Cruz, the previous two victors of that state’s GOP contests, Rick Santorum in 2012 and Mike Huckabee in 2008, had strong appeal among evangelicals which they had also demonstrated by winning the Iowa caucuses. “I really do. And I say that respectfully”, Trump said at a press conference in Florida.
Many of these white, working-class voters coexisted uneasily with the party establishment and at times with the purer strains of conservatism.
“It’s my opportunity to revolt”, said Betty Nixon, a 60-year-old Trump voter in Olathe, Kansas. She said three factions were emerging among Republicans: those supporting Trump, those backing Cruz, and supporters of the party establishment.
Overall, Trump had prevailed in 10 of 15 contests heading into Saturday’s voting.
Including partial delegate results from Saturday, Trump led the field with 373 delegates, followed by Cruz with 291, Rubio with 122 and Kasich 33.
“If we’re divided, Donald wins”, he warned.
“I think we will have a manifest uprising”, he said on a political chat show. Two more states hold primaries for Democrats on Tuesday, including MI, which offers 148 delegates.
Cruz won at least 64 delegates Saturday, making a small dent in Trump’s lead for Republican convention delegates. Rubio had 116 delegates and Kasich had 28.
While the brawl flattered no one, Mr Trump arguably came off the worst as Senators Cruz and Rubio, and the Fox News moderators, hammered the insurgent with questions about Trump University, where around 5000 or a third of students are now suing, alleging the coursework was not worth fees of up to $US35,000.
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It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.
