Donald Trump notches 3rd straight win in Nevada caucuses

Supporters cheer during a caucus night rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016.

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was projected the victor of the Nevada caucuses on Tuesday for his party’s nomination for the 8 November presidential election, several news outlets reported. That has tended to mean that high turnout rates are good for The Donald, but New Hampshire and SC also showed that he has a weakness among late-deciding voters.

Trump went into the caucuses with a huge lead in the polls, leaving Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio scrambling for second place.

But Ohio governor John Kasich and former brain surgeon Ben Carson remain in the race and could play spoilers as Mr Trump, Mr Cruz and Mr Rubio, battle for delegates.

He now heads into next week’s Super Tuesday vote in 11 states with his rivals struggling to find a way to stop him.

On Wednesday, Trump won his first endorsements from sitting members of Congress, with Reps. Ted Cruz, who has campaigned hard for their support. Those who said they made up their minds shortly before voting in the previous primaries largely supported Cruz and Rubio, so the makeup of the surge in participation in Nevada was expected to help decide how the race shook out. To clinch the Republican nomination, a candidate needs at least 1,237 delegates.

According to exit polls gathered by the Associated Press, 6 out 10 caucus voters said that they preferred a candidate that is not politically experienced. That’s fewer white evangelicals than this year’s Iowa caucus and SC primary, but the largest portion above 65 of any Republican test yet.

Indeed, Republican establishment heavyweights have been flooding to Rubio in recent days, including Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Carolina Sen.

Mr. Trump’s win is a further sign that despite his ability to offend, he has wide-ranging appeal among Republican voters.

“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”, he said.

Make or break There comes a point, especially with the big winner-takes-all delegates states coming up next month, where Rubio and Cruz can not excuse their second-place finishes. That is because the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, has racked up too many mistakes in her long political career to be considered a safe bet to defeat Trump.