Third straight win has rivals looking for answers – Trump storms to victory in Nevada

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LAS VEGAS, Feb 24, (Agencies): Donald Trump stormed to victory in Tuesday’s Republican caucuses in Nevada, giving the billionaire businessman his third straight win in the race for the White House. With 20 percent of the vote in, TV networks gave Trump 44 percent, with senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas trailing some 20 points behind in a tight race for second. “This is an amazing night,” Trump told cheering supporters in a victory speech. The lopsided result underscored the enormous challenge Trump’s rivals face as the candidates head into next week’s all important “Super Tuesday” contests involving 11 states. As early returns came in, CNN and Fox News had Rubio in second place with about 25 percent of the vote and Cruz in third place with about 22 percent.

Trump said his win was broadly based. “We won the evangelicals. We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated,” he said. “I love the poorly educated. We’re the smartest people. We’re the most loyal people.” The remaining two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Ohio Governor John Kasich, lagged far behind in the single digits. Cruz insisted he was the only candidate who could beat Trump and said he was now setting his sight on next Tuesday’s crucial contests.

Campaign

“One week from today will be the most important night of this campaign,” he said. Trump had been all but certain to triumph in Nevada, with the big question being whether Rubio — favoured by mainstream Republicans — could clinch second place. The contest was the fourth for the Republican presidential candidates, with Trump so far winning in New Hampshire and South Carolina. He came in second in Iowa. Although the caucus in Nevada is not expected to have a significant impact on the overall race — only 30 delegates or slightly more than one percent of the total are up for grabs — it was the first contest for the Republicans in the US West.

It is also the first test of Republican voter sentiment after Jeb Bush pulled out of the race last week following a poor showing in South Carolina. All eyes were on whether Rubio and Cruz would be able to slow Trump’s momentum and which of the two candidates would come in second. “Who is going to be the strongest guy to go against Trump… is going to be more clear after today,” said Dan Lee, assistant professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“Today we are going to see whether voters are going to move over more in support of Rubio.” He noted that the Nevada caucus was taking place as mainstream Republicans are grudgingly accepting the fact that Trump may well end up the party’s nominee given his seemingly unstoppable winning streak. “A lot of Republicans — especially the Republican establishment, professionals, governors — don’t really want Trump to win the nomination,” Lee said. “They want to get Cruz out and have Rubio go against Trump.” The real estate magnate dished out his trademark rhetoric against his rivals ahead of the vote Tuesday, comparing Cruz to a “soft, weak, little baby” at a rally. “But for lying, he’s the best I’ve ever seen,” he added.

Advantage

In the Democratic race, front-runner Hillary Clinton was looking for a commanding victory over Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders in Saturday’s South Carolina primary to give her a boost heading into Super Tuesday. Polls show the former secretary of state with a huge advantage among African- Americans which bodes well for her prospects in South Carolina and then the Southern states which vote on Super Tuesday where blacks make up a large segment of the Democratic primary electorate.

Nevada was a critical test for Rubio and Cruz, who are battling to emerge as the clear alternative to Trump. Rubio was out to prove he can build on recent momentum, while Cruz was looking for a spark to help him recover from a particularly rocky stretch in his campaign. Lagging far behind the two senators in the Nevada vote were Ohio Gov John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Rubio, already campaigning in Michigan 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.”

Rubio and Cruz have been attacking each other viciously in recent days, an indication they know Trump can be stopped only if one of them is eliminated. But after fi nishing third in Iowa, fi fth in New Hampshire and second in South Carolina, Rubio needs a win soon to support the idea he can beat Trump. Republican establishment heavyweights have been fl ooding to Rubio in recent days, including several senators and governors, but that might not help win over an angry Republican base looking for a political outsider like Trump. Cruz, a fiery conservative popular among voters on the Republican right, finished a disappointing third in South Carolina after spending much of the past two weeks denying charges of dishonest campaign tactics and defending his integrity. Another disappointing finish in Nevada would raise new questions about his viability heading into a crucial batch of Super Tuesday states on March 1.

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