Trump Wins Nevada Caucus: Projections

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, arrives with his son Eric during a caucus night rally.

Donald Trump swept to victory Tuesday in Nevada’s Republican caucuses, a third consecutive win that he said would likely propel him to the Republican presidential nomination. “Of course, if you listen to the pundits, we weren’t expected to win too much – and now we’re winning, winning, winning the country”.

Marco Rubio says he has no plans to ratchet up his critique of Trump, even as he chases him across 11 states ahead of next week’s “Super Tuesday” primaries.

In Tuesday’s Nevada caucuses, Trump clobbered his two main competitors, taking a whopping 46 percent of the vote to Rubio’s 24 and Cruz’s 21 percent.

Unlike primaries, caucuses allow participants to openly engage with one another and hear arguments from candidates’ supporters or surrogates, in meetings at schools, community centers and churches.

“You don’t win the nomination by how many states you win”, Rubio responded before adding that he will have to win some winner-take-all states in March.

Cruz fired Tyler the next day, saying his campaign did not question the faith of other candidates.

Later on Wednesday, Mr Trump won his first endorsements from sitting members of Congress, with Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of NY announcing they are backing him for the Republican presidential nomination.

If Republicans are to coalesce around a Trump alternative it will have to take place seven days from now on Super Tuesday.

Cruz attempted to appeal to the state’s fierce libertarian wing, appealing directly to those who supported Nevada 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.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Ohio Governor John Kasich were far behind.

“Number one with Hispanics”, he said.

Trump, the GOP front-runner, explained on NBC’s “Today” that he believes that his caustic campaigning style helped eliminate several competitors, so he’s not going to stop just yet.

Kasich and Carson could play spoilers as the trio of leading candidates, Trump, Cruz and Rubio, battle for delegates with an increasing sense of urgency.

FNC has called the Nevada caucuses for Donald Trump seconds after the polls closed.

On Tuesday night, Trump predicted that after Nevada, “It’s going to be an fantastic two months”.

He finished second in Iowa’s caucus, with its largely evangelical GOP voter base, and he cruised to big victories in moderate New Hampshire and culturally conservative sc.