Barack Obama missed a higher percentage of votes in 2008 when the two were seeking their party’s nomination, underscoring how common absenteeism is when elected officials seek the presidency. Trump won in close races in Louisiana and Kentucky where he underperformed polls showing him with double-digit leads earlier in the week.
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Rubio also leads among those who live in the southern portion of Florida, while Trump does better in central and northern Florida.
Cruz was urging Republican voters in MI who aren’t behind Donald Trump to back his campaign, contending he’s the only one who can defeat front-runner Trump and keep him becoming the party’s nominee.
Here is a screen capture of the relevant RealClear Politics source data.
Speaking to NBC’s “Today” Tuesday, as Michigan, Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii were set to vote for nominees, Trump called the accusations “ridiculous” and said his supporters call on him to make a gesture as if he’s swearing in for the presidency. Marco Rubio and Gov. John Kasich’s presidential campaigns in states that are voting on Tuesday, CNN has confirmed.
In a head-to-head match-up, Trump edges Rubio 47% to 45%.
However, a NBC/WSJ poll conducted in MI shows Hillary Clinton with a major lead of 57 percent among Democrats to Sanders’ 40 percent. The loudest cheers came when Rubio said “Idaho has the chance to restart” his campaign across the country.
“I don’t see a path to making everybody happy”, she said.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed over the 2009 auto bailout during Sunday’s Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan. More than half of Sunshine State voters are expected to cast ballots before the primary.
“If I spend any more time in MI, I have to start paying taxes”, Kasich told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
If the only objective is to stop Trump, this approach seems less likely to achieve that objective than consolidating the non-Trump votes behind one candidate.
If Rubio and Kasich can’t win at home, the Republican primary looks to become a two-person race between Trump and Cruz.
Before major primaries in Florida and four other states March 15, MI looms as the next major battleground for both parties in contests scheduled March 8.
Her lone challenger, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, won the caucuses Sunday in Maine.
Ryan Knott, a 43-year old who works for a local nonprofit, says he voted for Sanders because he’s pushing the Democratic Party in a direction that Knott says he likes.
“I’m not here asking any of you to pledge your support of me”, Cruz said, to thunderous applause and cheers.
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“I am very encouraged because if we continue to unite we are going to win this nomination”, said a jubilant Cruz.
