In a string of interviews, articles, and television commercials, Trump’s critics argue that his aggressive style – and his cutting comments about women, Muslims, and Mexican migrants – make him a poor general election candidate.
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Of Cruz’s win in Maine, Trump added: “He should do well in Maine, because, let’s face it: It’s very close to Canada”.
But with front-runner Trump yet to win states by the margins he’ll need in order to secure the nomination before the GOP convention, every one of the 155 GOP delegates at stake on Saturday was worth fighting for.
The principle behind requiring a candidate to win a majority of electoral votes to be president is the same principle behind requiring a candidate to win a majority of delegates to become the GOP presidential nominee. “I’d be very proud having any one of them at the top of the ticket”, Romney said.
Clinton picked up at least 55 delegates to Sanders’ 47 in Saturday’s contests, with seven delegates yet to be allocated. Curtis Ayotte, former chairman of the Kennebec County Republican Party, directs an overflow crowd waiting to get in to cast their votes at a Republican caucus Saturday, March 5, 2016, in Chelsea, Maine.
The Texas senator defeated Trump easily in Kansas and ME, and Trump rolled to victory in Louisiana, underscoring that his appeal knows no geographic limitation.
Most of the Kansas GOP’s establishment was wary of Trump and were instead split between Cruz and Rubio.
While the states up for grabs this weekend were minor in terms of their delegate count, the results will give a glimmer of hope to those still striving to keep the GOP nomination out of Mr Trump’s reach. Trump won the Kentucky caucus and Louisiana primary while Cruz claimed caucus wins in Kansas and Maine.
Cruz’s momentum is thanks in large part to reliable Republican voters.
He continued, “Ted is a conservative”.
While at least a few GOP voting at Olathe South High School said they could, Matt Murphy, a 30-year-old cigar sales representative from Gardner and a Cruz supporter, said “absolutely not”.
If Rubio’s slide continues, he would be the latest establishment candidate to fall victim to an angry, frustrated electorate that cares little about endorsements from party leaders or newspaper editorial boards. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 33. “I would love to take on Ted one-on-one, that would be so much fun”, he said. Rubio can win his home state of Florida and Gov. Kasich can win his home state of OH, that can deny Trump two important, winner-take-all states.
“I want Ted one-on-one, OK?” Despite strong support from the GOP establishment, Florida Sen. Mr Trump now has 378 delegates to Mr Cruz’s 295.
The path for Kasich, too, still looks narrower and narrower.
Cruz has now won six states.
The four Republicans candidates are also preparing for even bigger contests on March 15, including pivotal primaries in OH and Florida.
“There are so many uninformed Republicans!”
Democrats, on the other hand, had a mixed night when it comes to turnout. Republicans in three other states, Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii, also will vote on Tuesday.
That trajectory doesn’t guarantee success for Republicans in the fall.
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Bernie Sanders won Saturday in Nebraska and Kansas in the Democratic race, while front-runner Hillary Clinton took Louisiana, another divided verdict from the American people. As expected, Mrs Clinton won the southern state comfortably, meaning she has at least 1,117 delegates to Mr Sanders’ 477, including “superdelegates”, members of Congress, governors and party officials, who can support the candidate of their choice.
