Why isn’t Marco Rubio targeting Donald Trump? Candidate defends choice after Nevada

The 69-year-old billionaire reality TV star has now won three of the four early nominating states, after convincing wins in SC and New Hampshire. Cruz, a fiery conservative popular among voters on the GOP’s right, had finished a disappointing third in SC after spending much of the past two weeks denying charges of dishonest campaign tactics and defending his integrity.

“But it is Trump’s new alliance of angry populists that is ascendant – and on the precipice of dominance”.

“Responding to President Obama’s Tuesday overture to close the detention centre in Cuba, Trump said: “[We’re] gonna keep Guantanamo open, we’re going to fill it with bad dudes”. Trump was getting around 35 percent in polls.

“It’s not based on how many states you win”, he said.

In his address, Cruz emphasized that he looking forward to Super Tuesday in Texas as a significant source of delegates.

In Nevada and other states, supporters say Trump is a strong leader and an “outsider” who will shake up the system when it comes to issues like the economy, foreign policy, and illegal immigration. Trump picked up his third straight victory last night in the Nevada caucuses. Bernie Sanders in Saturday’s SC primary to give her a boost heading into Super Tuesday. When CNN projected Trump would win the race there was a minute-long cheer, which switched to boos when Cruz was mentioned.

Mr Rubio and Mr Cruz have been attacking each other viciously in recent days, an indication they know Mr Trump can be stopped only if one of them is eliminated. Candidates need 1,237 delegates to become the nominee, and the Washington Post reported on some delegate math done by the site FHQ, which suggests that Trump could become the nominee.

The lopsided result underscored the enormous challenge Mr Trump’s rivals face as the candidates head into next week’s all important “Super Tuesday” contests involving 11 states. (In fact, on Monday, Donald Trump called them a “dangerous” system on Hugh Hewitt’s radio program.) Nevada debuted its status of “first in the West” back in 2008, and given that many people are unfamiliar with the caucus process there has been traditionally low voter turnout.

“I’ve never dealt with anyone who lies like he does”, Trump said. Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson make up the remaining Republican field. Among voters 65 and over, who made up a third of the Nevada electorate, Trump more than doubled Rubio’s support, winning 51 percent to 25 percent. “They haven’t alienated as numerous people they are trying to attract”.