Trump Declares His Love For Poorly Educated In Nevada Victory Speech

Rubio, who was already in MI on caucus night, didn’t speak after the results came in but earlier sought to project confidence that he can consolidate the non-Trump voters who have been splintering among an assortment of GOP candidates, saying, “We have incredible room to grow”.

Billionaire Donald Trump won another state in his bid to be the Republican nominee for president with a decisive victory Tuesday in the western US state of Nevada.

With returns still being tabulated, US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was in second place, with Ted Cruz, a US Senator from Texas, coming in third.

“We love Nevada”, Trump said during his brief victory speech at his party in Las Vegas late Tuesday night. We’re going to win, win, win.

Mr Trump is now well positioned to score heavily in states across the South that vote in “Super Tuesday” next week.

Propelled by an electorate deeply frustrated with US politicians, Trump, a controversial candidate known for his blunt and sometimes even incendiary remarks, had so far notched three big wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, as well as a second-place finish in Iowa.

Ted Cruz addresses supporters at a rally after the Nevada Republican caucuses in Las Vegas, Nevada February 23, 2016.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is adamant that he is not giving up on SC despite leaving the state to campaign elsewhere days before this early voting state’s primary.

And, following a pattern seen in other contests, Trump performed best among voters without a college degree, but even more-educated voters still broke in his favor, if with a smaller margin.

“There are a lot of things Donald has said that I disagree with”, Cruz said, “and that is very near the top”. But his success thus far is because a large section of American voters of all backgrounds are angry and exhausted with their present political leaders and want change.

The debate played out as a raucous night of tit-for-tat insults, with candidates shouting over one another so much that it was hard to hear anyone. “Before that it was seven people”, Rubio said on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends”.

Nevada marks the first Republican nominating contest in the West and the fourth of the campaign as the candidates try to collect enough delegates to win the party’s nomination at the national convention in July.

One of the states is Cruz’s home of Texas, where Cruz leads in polls. “We’re beating the governor”, he said.

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.

Among voters 65 and over, who made up a third of Nevada Republican caucus-goers, Trump more than doubled Rubio’s support, winning 51 percent to 25 percent.

The entrance poll suggests that many Trump supporters have been chomping at the bit to make their mark in Tuesday’s caucuses.

Trump’s support among evangelical voters in Nevada was particularly noteworthy.