Trump is so unpopular outside of his “poorly educated” vastly older, white fan base that the image of him accepting the GOP’s nomination and being their official standard bearer might just destroy any credibility the party has left with crucial general election voting blocs. Senator Marco Rubio was beaten badly by Trump in Florida and suspended his campaign.
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Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who is supporting Kasich, said there were “calls going back and forth between the Kasich-Rubio campaign” about the possibility of a joint ticket, though he said those conversations were preliminary. The outside groups American Future Fund, Our Principles and Club for Growth have no Trump attack ads planned for Arizona – a crucial winner-take-all contest in six days – or in any states beyond.
“The bottom line after tonight: it looks like Trump will not have a majority of delegates in July”, said Paul Beck, a professor of political science at Ohio State University.
The loss in his home state of Florida was a brutal blow for Rubio, who was once a rising star in the party and had become the choice of the party establishment’s anti-Trump forces until his campaign nosedived. Rubio announced following Florida’s results that he has dropped out of the race.
“We are moving closer to securing the Democratic party nomination and winning this election in November”, said Clinton, casting one eye on the general election – and at Trump.
“I want you to know the campaign goes on, and it is my intention to make you proud”, said Kasich at his first victory speech. Given the math, that is likely Kasich’s only route to the party’s nomination.
In a truly shocking comment, Curly Haugland, GOP delegate from North Dakota, says when the people vote in the primaries and caucuses, those votes do not count, reports the Daily Caller. Tuesday was an important night for Clinton as she was able to create distance from challenger Bernie Sanders in the delegate count. “To win the states we won, and with the margins”.
Those numbers help explain Sanders’ trouble capitalizing even where the electorates are sympathetic to his arguments on trade, a major factor in his MI win.
“I think you’d have riots”, Trump told CNN about losing the nomination in a contested convention. “He has a great future”. He congratulated Clinton on her Tuesday victories in a statement, but added that with more than half the delegates “yet to be chosen and a calendar that favors us… we remain confident that our campaign is on a path to win the nomination”.
According to Associated Press projections, Trump leads the race for delegates with at 621 following his gains in Tuesday’s contests. “We have something happening together, we are making the republican party the biggest story in the world. Millions of people came in to vote”.
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Early on March 16, MSNBC projected Trump and Clinton would win Missouri in very tight races. Now the Washington establishment seems to be aiming to coalesce next behind Kasich and then lastly behind Cruz in their efforts to maintain control over the populace, and it remains to be seen if these last ditch efforts will be even close to successful or if they will fail just like every other fight.
