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Trump and Clinton move closer to nomination with strong Arizona wins Trump and Clinton win big in Arizona, but Cruz and Sanders keep pressure on
(about 3 hours later)
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both won convincing victories in the Arizona presidential primaries on Tuesday, further cementing their status as the frontrunners in the Republican and Democratic races for the White House. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both won convincing victories in the Arizona presidential primaries on Tuesday, cementing their status as the frontrunners in Republican and Democratic races that are a long way from being settled.
The Arizona results were the first in a trio of contests in western states held Tuesday. In a sign both contests are shaping up to be long and drawn-out bids for delegates, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, the main Republican and Democratic challengers, also notched significant victories in western states.
The scale of the wins by the Republican and Democratic frontrunners portend a disappointing night for their main challengers, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, both of whom were hoping for an upset in Arizona. Cruz swept to victory in Utah, and at 1am local time he appeared to potentially be on course to win more than 50% of the votes. The threshold is pivotal under Utah’s Republican caucus rules, as it ensured the Texas senator to secure all of the state’s 40 delegates.
Both Trump and Clinton were projected to win by the Associated Press shortly after 8pm local time. At that stage, both were enjoying leads in excess of 20 points. Sanders also registered a resounding victory in Utah and added a second triumph in Idaho, a state only Democrats were holding a contest in on Tuesday.
In the Republican race, Trump was at 46.5%, while Cruz was on 21%. Ohio Governor John Kasich was third, with around 10%. However, Arizona was the largest delegate prize on Tuesday and was also the most fiercely contested, with Trump, Cruz, Clinton and Sanders all criss-crossing the state in recent days in a last-ditch effort to shore up support.
On the Democratic side, Clinton’s margin of victory over Sanders was even greater, with 60.3% compared to the Vermont senator’s 37.1%. The strength of the victories by the Republican and Democratic frontrunners in the large, diverse state will add to the growing sense they are nominees-in-waiting, even if they have months of protracted contests ahead of them.
At her victory speech at a rally in Seattle the former secretary of state immediately positioned herself as the Democratic commander-in-chief in waiting, condemning how her Republican rivals responded to the terrorist attacks in Brussels earlier in the day. She promised leadership that was “strong, smart and above all steady”. The Grand Canyon State is the largest purely winner-takes-all state left in the Republican calendar, and Trump’s victory in the state ensured he won all 58 delegates. At 11pm local time, with close to half of Arizona votes counted, Trump was on 47%, compared to Cruz’s 23%. Ohio Governor John Kasich was third, with around 10%.
“In the face of terror, America doesn’t panic, we don’t build walls or turn our backs on our allies,” she said in a pointed swipe at the Republican frontrunner. “We can’t throw out everything that we know about what works and what doesn’t and start torturing people.” On the Democratic side, Clinton had a similarly large margin of victory, with 60% to Sanders’ 38%.
Clinton added: “What Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and others are suggesting is not only wrong, it is dangerous.” At her victory speech at a rally in Seattle the former secretary of state immediately positioned herself as the Democratic commander-in-chief in waiting, dwelling only briefly on the election results in order to focus instead on a critique of how her Republican rivals responded to the terrorist attacks in Brussels earlier in the day.
Cruz and Sanders are both favored to win Republican and Democratic caucuses in Utah. For Cruz, the key question will be whether he surpasses a 50% vote threshold that would enable him to carry all of the state’s delegates. Clinton contrasted what she claimed would be her “strong, smart and above all steady” leadership in the White House with the reaction of Republicans to the tragedy in Europe.
Sanders is also well-placed in Utah as well as Idaho, where Democrats are holding an additional caucus. Trump, who recently said the US should reconsider its involvement in the NATO defense alliance, a cornerstone of Washington’s foreign policy, responded to the terrorist atrocity by repeating his call to waterboard terror suspects. Cruz, meanwhile, was widely criticized for reacting to the attacks with a call for law enforcement patrols of Muslim neighborhoods.
Appearing at a rally in San Diego, Sanders did not immediately mention the result in Arizona, instead focusing on his expected wins in Utah and Idaho. “We have now won 10 primaries and caucuses,” a hoarse-sounding Sanders told supporters. “And unless I’m mistaken, we’re going to win a couple more tonight.” “In the face of terror, America doesn’t panic, we don’t build walls or turn our backs on our allies,” Clinton said. “We can’t throw out everything that we know about what works and what doesn’t and start torturing people.”
However, Arizona is the largest delegate prize of the states voting Tuesday. It was also the most fiercely contested, with Trump, Cruz, Clinton and Sanders all criss-crossing the state in recent days in a last-ditch effort to shore up support. She added: “What Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and others are suggesting is not only wrong, it is dangerous.”
The Grand Canyon State is the largest purely winner-takes-all state left in the Republican calendar and is an important stepping stone, in particular, for Trump, who despite his frontrunner status faces a long, drawn-out slog to acquire the 1,237 delegates needed to become the GOP nominee. Appearing at a rally in San Diego before the Utah and Idaho results were in, Sanders did not mention his loss in Arizona, instead focusing on his expected wins. “We have now won 10 primaries and caucuses,” a hoarse-sounding Sanders told supporters. “And unless I’m mistaken, we’re going to win a couple more tonight.”
The effort to block Trump from securing the Republican ticket rests on preventing him from meeting that necessary delegate threshold, a move that would force the billionaire to make the case for his presidency in a contested convention where party elites, many of whom who are hostile to his candidacy, could hold sway. His forecast was correct, and the strength of Sanders’ victories in Utah and Idaho, where early voting returns indicated he could win as much as 70% of the votes, will likely energize his supporters. The senator from Vermont is also projected to perform well in the last three Democratic states to hold contests in March: Alaska, Hawaii and Washington.
Trump and Cruz were both on the east coast, where most results did not start filtering until late Tuesday night. Neither had scheduled news conferences or rallies. However, those wins are unlikely to put a decisive dent in the Democratic frontrunner’s lead delegates. Clinton’s lead in delegates selected through primaries and caucuses is bolstered from the pledged support of party officials that also get a say in the nomination process.
Arizona was less significant in the Democratic race, in which delegates are apportioned proportionately, and in which there are another seven states with larger tallies of delegates available before the party convention.
There are only three more presidential contests remaining this month: Democratic caucuses in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington.
Barring a huge upset, none are expected to alter Clinton’s position as the strong favorite to be appointed Democratic nominee at the gathering of party officials and delegates in July.
In part, that is because her lead over Sanders in delegates selected in state primaries and caucuses is further bolstered by so-called superdelegates – the party officials who are unbound by any elections and are mostly backing the former secretary of state.
With superdelegates included, Clinton went into Tuesday with 1,630 delegates compared to Sanders’ 870. Sanders contends that superdelegates could still change their minds before the convention and insist the second half of the primary calendar includes states that are better suited to him.With superdelegates included, Clinton went into Tuesday with 1,630 delegates compared to Sanders’ 870. Sanders contends that superdelegates could still change their minds before the convention and insist the second half of the primary calendar includes states that are better suited to him.
Still, Clinton operatives are privately confident that on the current trajectory the senator from Vermont will likely pull out of the race by early summer. Still, Clinton operatives are privately confident that on the current trajectory the senator from Vermont will face intense pressure to pull out of the race by early summer.
The Republican race is less straightforward. The Republican race appears more complicated still.
Although Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, his final tally of delegates is projected to come down to the wire, and could fall short of the necessary threshold if Cruz is able to absorb support from supporters of candidates who have dropped out such as Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and Jeb Bush. While Trump looks on course to end the campaign with the most delegates of any candidate, he may not have the 1,237 required to win the GOP nomination outright. That would force the billionaire to make the case for his presidency in a contested convention where party elites, many of whom who are hostile to his candidacy, could hold sway.
The Texas senator’s bid for the mantle of Trump’s challenger-in-chief is complicated by Kasich, the third Republican still in the race and, he argues, the only moderate voice. With Trump’s projected delegate count expected to come down to the wire, results such as his loss to Cruz in Utah could, later down the line, prove pivotal.
His continued presence in the race is a problem for Cruz, a conservative zealot and self-appointed Tea Party leader who is nonetheless casting his candidacy as the best-remaining option for any Republican opposed to Trump. Utah’s large Mormon population always made it steep challenge for Trump, but the race showed signs that Cruz, a conservative stalwart once loathed by the Republican establishment, is starting to mop-up its support.
Although Arizona was the first major contest since Rubio, a Florida senator, dropped out of the race, it was probably not the best litmus test for whether Cruz could mop up his voters because of early voting. Arizonans have been able to cast their ballots since late February, with some counties indicating more than a quarter of eligible primary voters had voted before Tuesday. The self-styled Tea Party senator is desperate to absorb supporters of candidates who have dropped out such as Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and Jeb Bush. In Utah, he received the unlikely backing of 2012 nominee Mitt Romney.
Still, the ease with which Trump won in Arizona will be sobering for those in the party trying desperately to prevent him winning the nomination. Cruz’s bid for the mantle of Trump’s challenger-in-chief is complicated by Kasich, the third Republican still in the race and, he argues, the only moderate voice. His continued presence in the race could sap at the Texan senator’s pool of potential anti-Trump voters.
Cruz is also hampered by a view among some in the party that that would be no more electedable than Trump in a general election - and possible less so.
Trump and Cruz were both on the east coast, where most results did not start filtering until late Tuesday night. Neither had scheduled news conferences or rallies to react to the results.
Instead, on a night when world leaders were grappling with the repercussions of the terrorist bombings in Brussels, which killed at least 31 people and injuring up to 230, Trump and Cruz ended up in an unseemly Twitter squabble over their wives.
Trump wrongly accusing Cruz of being behind an ad in Utah that used a nude photograph of his wife Melania from a GQ shoot fifteen years ago and added: “Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!”
Cruz responded: “Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you’re more of a coward than I thought.”