|
 Broadcast networks called the state for Trump almost immediately
after voting ended, with the state Republican Party confirming the
victory soon after.
With returns still being tabulated, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of
Florida was in second place, with Ted Cruz, a U.S. Senator from
Texas, coming in third.
Trump's decisive win is likely to further frustrate Republican
establishment figures who, less than a month ago, were hoping that
the outspoken billionaire’s insurgent candidacy was stalled after he
lost the opening nominating contest in Iowa to Cruz.
But since then, Trump has tallied wins in New Hampshire, South
Carolina, and now Nevada, with a suite of southern states ahead on
March 1, so-called Super Tuesday.
“If you listen to the pundits, we weren’t expected to win too much,
and now we’re winning, winning, winning the country,” Trump said at
a victory rally in Las Vegas.
 Polls suggest Trump will do well in many of those Super Tuesday
states, placing further pressure on Cruz, Rubio, and Ohio Governor
John Kasich, another presidential candidate who was not a factor in
Nevada, to come up with counter-measures quickly.
“These guys have to figure out how to turn their fire on Trump,”
said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist in Washington. Absent
that, he said, “Which one is going to get out of this field?”
In the run-up to Nevada, most of Trump’s rivals left him alone,
preferring to tussle with each other in a bid to be the last
surviving challenger to the front-runner.
Not long after Trump’s win was certified in Nevada, Cruz’s campaign
released a statement criticizing Rubio for not winning the state,
but did not mention Trump at all.
Rubio, who has emerged as the Republican establishment’s favorite to
derail Trump’s progress, can take some solace in finishing second.
But that also has to be viewed as somewhat of a setback considering
that he had frequently campaigned in Nevada, having lived there for
years as a child. A Cuban-American, he had attempted to rally the
support of the state’s large Latino population.
Rubio had also benefited from the departure Saturday of Jeb Bush,
the former Florida governor, from the race. That brought an influx
of new funds, a bevy of endorsements, and a wealth of media
attention. But none of it was enough to overtake Trump.
[to top of second column] |
As for Cruz, he is facing mounting questions about the viability of
his campaign. After Cruz’s Iowa win, Trump has made serious inroads
among his core base of conservative supporters, draining
anti-government hardliners and evangelicals.
Cruz attempted to appeal to Nevada’s fierce libertarian wing,
appealing directly to those who supported local rancher Cliven
Bundy’s armed protest against the federal government in 2014 and a
similar more recent one staged by Bundy’s sons at a federal wildlife
refuge in Oregon. But that, too, was not enough.
The upcoming March 1 primary in his home state of Texas is looming
as a make-or-break moment for him.
Despite early reports on social media of procedural irregularities
at many Nevada caucus sites, the Republican National Committee and
the party’s state chapter said voting ran smoothly.
Higher-than-normal turnout was reported, although historically, few
of the state’s citizens participate in the Republican caucus.
Nevada’s contest had been viewed as a test of whether Trump had
organizational might to match his star power. Unlike primaries,
caucuses are more dependent on the abilities of campaigns to
motivate supporters to participate. Trump’s failure to do that in
Iowa was viewed as contributing to his defeat there.
He had no such problems in Nevada. And he is expected to win the
bulk of Nevada’s 30 delegates, That would give him more than 80
before February ends, dwarfing the tallies of Cruz and Rubio.
While more than 1,200 are needed to secure the Republican
presidential nomination, Trump has built a formidable head start.
(Reporting by Megan Cassella and James Oliphant. Written by James
Oliphant; Editing by Paul Tait and Michael Perry)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
