Donald Trump addresses supporters after winning Nevada’s Republican presidential caucus, at the Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Las Vegas Feb 23.
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As of early Wednesday morning, Trump had 45 percent of the vote, well ahead of second-place finisher Marco Rubio with 24 percent.
The race for the Republican nomination now moves on to next week’s Super Tuesday, when a dozen states will hold presidential primaries.
Mr Rubio, already campaigning in MI as caucus results rolled in, was projecting confidence that he can consolidate the non-Trump voters who have been splintering among an assortment of Republican candidates, saying, “we have incredible room to grow”. But there’s no indication that anyone with a substantial base of support will bow out before mid-March, and that may be too late, it said.
If Trump wins, the news will be who came in second.
Trump leads the delegate count with 67 followed by Cruz with 11 and Rubio with 10.
The Ohio poll conducted by Quinnipiac University found Kasich trailing Trump 31% to 26% among likely Republican primary voters.
2,000 miles away, Hillary Clinton scored an important victory in the Democratic caucus in Nevada.
Mitt Romney won the state’s caucuses in 2012, but it’s difficult to predict Tuesday’s outcome because the state is generally hard to poll.
Trump sent a letter to the state Republican Party complaining that an unnamed Cruz backer was quoted in The Wall Street Journal advising caucus-goers to bring their cell phones and videotape the proceedings Tuesday evening.
Trump swept almost every category of voter in Nevada, including Hispanics. Cruz has the lead in Arkansas and Texas, while Rubio has a slight edge in Minnesota.
“There’s something wrong with this guy”, Mr Trump said of Mr Cruz in his typically blunt manner during a massive Las Vegas rally on the night of the caucus. Marco Rubio said he was going to go talk to Donald an hour ago, but instead he left for MI.
“Obviously we take reports of double-voting very seriously, and we will be reviewing ballots”, it said in a statement.
While more than 1,200 are needed to secure the Republican presidential nomination, Trump has a formidable head start. “And the undeniable reality that the first four states have shown is that the only campaign that has beaten Donald Trump and the only campaign that can beat Donald Trump, is this campaign”, Cruz continued.
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Vote-counting and voter registration mistakes were reported in multiple caucus sites, including allegations that volunteers did not check identifications when voters were signed in.
