The first step would be for Rubio to eliminate Sen.
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By turns boastful, mocking or menacing, Trump has hit on a style that has seduced a growing and increasingly diverse share of Republican voters – to the dismay of his rivals, who have struggled to find an effective angle of attack against the 69-year-old billionaire.
As they seek to become the Trump alternative, Cruz and Rubio have significant liabilities.
The Florida GOP primary, which awards the victor all of its 99 delegates, will take place March 15.
Most polls show Cruz the favorite to win, but not by enough to take all the state’s 155 GOP delegates under its proportional system.
But Ellis, like so many in the audience of about 1,000, understood Trump vocalizes the anger many people feel.
As with any theory about how Rubio wins the Republican presidential nomination, there are annoying, real-world complications that immediately come into view. The state’s polling is all over the place right now, with some recent surveys showing Cruz and Trump in a tie and others showing Cruz with a safe lead. In the last ten polls on RealClearPolitics that matched Cruz up against Clinton in a general election, Cruz wins five times, ties three times, loses twice, and squeaks by with an 0.8% overall lead.
“We might not even need the two months, to be honest”.
Governor Abbott welcomed Cruz to Mach Industrial where he endorsed him for President. “I have no intention of responding in kind”.
Carson, feeling left out while Cruz, Trump and Rubio argue: “Can somebody attack me, please?”
Meanwhile, John Kasich is starting to come under pressure from establishment Republicans to drop his White House bid to clear the way for Rubio. Twenty-One percent of likely Republican primary voters say they “would definitely not support” Trump for the nomination, with 26 percent saying they wouldn’t support Cruz and 17 percent saying no to Rubio. Doubtful. Was it enough to keep Rubio moving ahead and raising money?
“At his election night party”, the Washington Post reported overnight, Cruz “predicted a victory in Texas, the state he couldn’t “wait to get home” to”. Otherwise, there’s a good bet that he is not long for this race…
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Trump has the support of almost every demographic group, including a 50 percentage point lead among voters who want a candidate with strong leadership. On this “Super Tuesday”, 11 states will hold Republican primaries or caucuses, and they’ll allot about a quarter of the delegates that will be given out overall. But the Florida senator has yet to win a single state and has stumbled over criticism that he is unprepared for the presidency.
