Kasich’s spokesman then said he won’t debate without Trump onstage.
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Sanders is expected to do well in three states that vote next week: Arizona, Idaho and Utah.
An emboldened Donald Trump offered himself Wednesday as the inevitable Republican presidential nominee and called on balky GOP leaders to embrace the voters’ “tremendous fervor” for his candidacy.
Sanders now is in position to play the role of spoiler in the Democratic race, even as he faces Clinton’s nearly insurmountable lead in convention delegates. We have a great opportunity.
Trump significantly expanded his delegate lead, winning four out of five contests and narrowing the candidate field to three after beating Florida Sen. But I lean toward the view that Trump is better off if his opposition is split between the OH governor and the Texas senator.
The ultimate recipient of support from Rubio and his backers is anyone’s guess, they said.
The billionaire scored big wins in Florida, Illinois and North Carolina which brought him closer to the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination. Kasich by remaining in the race, may deny Cruz critical votes in winner-takeall contests.
Trump, the brash and controversial businessman and reality TV star, has upended Republican politics by winning most of the state-by-state competitions for delegates who will choose the party’s nominee. He added that neither Trump nor Texas Sen. Yet a win by Mr Kasich in OH raised the possibly that Trump’s delegate count could fall short.
Top Republican powerbrokers are still maneuvering to derail Trump, seen as an outsider who hijacked the party primaries, and are looking to a so-called brokered convention – which can occur if no candidate wins a majority of delegates by June – as their likely last chance.
A person familiar with the planning confirmed the meeting on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the gathering by name. But former House Speaker John Boehner told a conference of futures trading executives Wednesday that Ryan should be the party’s pick if no one was selected on the first ballot at the convention.
If he doesn’t, there could be a contested convention. “I’m representing many, many millions of people”. “We’ll see. Who knows?”
It now remains unclear whether Trump can secure the number of delegates needed to win the nomination outright before the Republican national convention in July, according to Republican analyst Ford O’Connell. “I think you would have riots”.
With about 60 percent of the party’s total delegates already awarded, Trump has won about 47 percent.
Trump won the critical state of Florida, forcing the state’s USA senator, Marco Rubio, out of the race. “We still have two people left”.
After a surprise victory in MI last week, Sanders spent more time and resources to compete in OH and IL.
Despite the deep concerns about Trump within the Republican Party, there was little tangible action Wednesday that indicated a way to stop the real estate mogul’s march toward the general election. The other candidates and delegates not voting for him could cast their support behind someone who hasn’t run so far. It takes 2,383 to win the Democratic nomination.
Police controlling crowds at a Trump rally in Missouri recently used pepper spray on at least two demonstrators.
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But John Kasich won in OH, taking all 66 delegates, and will presumably stay in the race.
