In a strong rebuke to the general trend of the Republican primary thus far, both delegate front-runners, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, fared poorly and won no delegates, burnishing their anti-establishment credentials. Texas Senator Ted Cruz can claim momentum heading into next week’s big primaries in Florida and elsewhere after an nearly clean sweep in Wyoming’s county conventions yesterday.
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“In terms of being a D.C. Republican, we have not mattered this much in a presidential primary since Frederick Douglass was a precinct captain here”, D.C. GOP executive director Patrick Mara said.
Party officials in the nation’s capital say Rubio picked up 10 delegates with his Saturday caucus win in the nation’s capital with 37 percent of the ballot. Ohio Governor John Kasich came in second with 36 per cent and walked away with nine delegates.
José Cunningham, chairman of the capital city’s Republican Party, said the allocation of 19 delegates would be in proportion to the votes received.
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. The D.C. Republican Party only had one polling location, and the line to get in stretched for many city blocks. There also will be an opportunity for Orthodox Jews to vote after sundown. There are reports of people waiting over 3 hours to vote. The other 3 are party leaders automatically included as delegates. “The District’s 27,000 registered Republicans tend to be moderate and establishment-friendly, and some voters sported a sticker with the hashtag “#NeverTrump”. Many endured a light rain as they waited in the long line.
Trump sees Florida as a chance to knock Rubio from the race.
Results are expected to be announced around 9 p.m. Saturday.
The District will send 19 delegates to the convention, as many as Hawaii and only four fewer than New Hampshire.
Cruz had scoffed as recently as March 6 at the thought of “a bunch of Washington deal-makers and lobbyists who want to parachute in their preferred candidate because they don’t like what the voters are doing”.
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Phillips, who’s known Rubio since he was a state senator and plans to vote for him, said it’s a tougher race for the Floridian after two hard weeks since Super Tuesday contests.
