Ted Cruz and Donald Trump each captured two victories in Saturday’s four-state round of voting in the Republican race for the White House.
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The wins for Trump and Cruz on Saturday were a setback for a Republican establishment that has largely lined up behind Marco Rubio, a USA senator who was shut out in the four contests.
Although Trump emphasized he’d had a “really good” night – he beat Cruz in Kentucky by 4.3 points and in Louisiana by 3.7 points – Cruz’s 25-point win in Kansas and 13-point win in ME were by bigger gaps and netted the Texas senator more of the 155 delegates at stake in Saturday’s contests.
Bernie Sanders notched a win in Nebraska and state party officials gave him a victory in Kansas, while Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton snagged Louisiana.
In the Kansas Democratic caucuses, results hadn’t yet been reported in the contest between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. But the GOP field is already looking toward the March 15 primaries – including ones in OH and Florida.
The billionaire businessman argued that he could do better toward winning the nomination by facing the Texas senator alone in such upcoming primaries as New York, New Jersey and California. Marco Rubio came up short, raising serious questions about his viability in the race. “With the Republicans, it looks like Trump”.
With 51 Louisiana delegates at stake, Clinton will gain more than half – at least 28. The third-place finish in Kansas, where he netted less than one-fifth of the vote, was particularly disappointing for his campaign, since Rubio scrapped other trips over the weekend to campaign there over the weekend.
Through 19 contests, Clinton has won 12 contests, and Sanders has won seven.
The poll, which was conducted in part before neurosurgeon Ben Carson dropped out of the GOP presidential race, also suggests that Cruz, Rubio and Kasich will pick up almost equal parts of Carson’s support, based on those voters’ second choice picks in the poll.
Kentucky also has its caucuses Saturday, and Louisiana holds their Republican primary as well. Kansas and ME hold caucuses, a format which has sometimes been a challenge for Trump. “We have now won double-digit victories from New England to the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains to the Midwest”, Sanders said. “There is nothing as exciting as this”, Trump said and asked Rubio to drop out of the race following his poor performance.
Cruz also got a morale boost from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington, where he won a straw poll, further demonstrating his appeal to the Republican Party’s conservative base. Rubio had one win in Minnesota.
In the overall race for delegates, Trump led with 335 and Cruz had 248.
Clinton and Sanders squared off Sunday night at a CNN Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan – the site of a water crisis that has led both to call for federal involvement – ahead of Michigan’s Tuesday primary.
In the overall race for Republican delegates, Mr Trump led with at least 375 and Mr Cruz had at least 291.
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Meanwhile, Kasich said he hopes for a strong showing in MI, a state neighboring OH, where he is the sitting governor.
