Trump notches another win as Rubio bids to elbow past Cruz

Billionaire Donald Trump has taken another stride towards the White House with victory in the Nevada caucuses.

Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz – the frontrunners to take out Trump were thumped by him in Nevada, with Trump gaining 45.9 per cent of the vote.

CNNDonald Trump is projected to have won the chaotic Nevada Republican caucuses, according to the Associated Press, with Rubio poised for second place.

Supporters cheer during a caucus night rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, in Las Vegas. This is coming off a 35.3% of votes and 10 delegate win in New Hampshire, and a #2.5% win, which includes all 50 delegates in SC.

Co-host Ashley Earhardt asked Rubio if he needs to start winning primaries in order to win the nomination.

Ticking off a list of upcoming primary states where he’s leading in preference polls, Trump predicted he’ll soon be able to claim the GOP nomination. The candidates were fanning out to their next targets of opportunity as the lights went out in Las Vegas: Trump was campaigning today in Virginia, then on to Texas and Oklahoma.

“A couple of months ago, we weren’t expected to win this one, you know that, right?”

The fact that Trump won with very conservative and evangelical voters suggests that Cruz has fallen way behind Trump with his own constituency. But the specifics of the win-that is, who exactly came out to support him-were just as remarkable. Mr Kasich and Mr Carson could play spoilers as Mr Trump, Mr Cruz and Mr Rubio, battle for delegates with an increasing sense of urgency. While he’s still trailing Cruz in Texas-which will divvy up the most delegates on March 1st-Trump remains on pace to be the front-runner when Washington wakes up on March 2nd. In Nevada a smaller number of voters described themselves as born-again Christians (39 percent), but Trump again won those voters, this time with a 15-point margin over Cruz.

OH governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson were pressed to defend the legitimacy of their campaigns as some Republicans have accused them of siphoning away votes from the senators. His big win in the last state before Super Tuesday doesn’t bode well.