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 The billionaire businessman's campaign stops have become marked by
outbreaks of shouting and shoving between Trump supporters and a
stream of protesters, who have sought to disrupt the events because
of what they decry as his bigoted rhetoric.
While Trump's campaign has taken unusual twists and turns, it veered
into new territory over the weekend. He canceled a big rally in
Chicago over security after protesters swarmed the event Friday,
sparking clashes. He was rushed by a man on an Ohio stage and
repeatedly blamed Democratic rival Bernie Sanders for the
protesters' actions. Trump refused to take responsibility for the
uptick in tensions.
His stance and the protests add a new twist to nominating contests
in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio on Tuesday,
another key day for both Republicans and Democrats seeking their
parties' nominations for the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic
President Barack Obama.
 After a strong start that has surprised veteran campaign watchers,
Trump leads in delegates over second-place Ted Cruz, the U.S.
senator from Texas, and could seize control of the race with big
wins on Tuesday.
Political analysts are hesitant to say whether Trump's advance to
the nomination might be slowed by the charged events at his rallies.
"It will help Trump among hard-core Republicans and hurt him among
independents," said Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster.
"It will help him among those who resent the left and their protests
and their disruptions. But it will hurt him among independents who
don't like the chaos and the confusion."
'DISRUPTER IN THE HOUSE?'
Polls showed Trump holding firm leads in all the states voting on
Tuesday other than Ohio, where he was roughly tied with that state's
governor, John Kasich, who is seen as needing to win in his home
state to stay in the race.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a favorite of the party establishment, has
staked his survival in the campaign on defying polls and winning in
his home state of Florida.
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On the Democratic side, former first lady and secretary of state
Hillary Clinton has a decent chance to pull away from Sanders on
Tuesday. But her loss to him last week in Michigan, which shocked
pollsters who believed Clinton had a double-digit lead, underscores
the left-leaning U.S. senator's ability to surprise.
At a town hall on Sunday night, the two Democrats had to first
devote time to talking about their concerns about Trump, who they
both say is inciting violence at his rallies, before getting down to
their battle with each other.
Trump has proven to be a polarizing candidate, not only for the
American electorate but also for the Republican establishment. His
calls months ago to deport millions of people who are in the country
illegally and to put a temporary ban on Muslims visiting the United
States are often cited by the protesters as reasons to organize and
disrupt his rallies.
After an eventful weekend hopping between locations, Trump will jet
on Monday among three states, where protesters have promised to keep
up the pressure.
A Sunday night event in Boca Raton in Florida passed much more
quietly, and a note of disappointment crept into Trump's voice.
"Do we have a protester, anyone?" he asked the crowd after noting
that protesters help draw news cameras' attention to the size of his
crowds. "Is there a disrupter in the house?"
This time, there was not.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland in The Villages, Fla.;
Writing by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney and Mary
Milliken)
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