The battle for the Republican presidential nomination has intensified with firebrand conservative Ted Cruz slowing down front-runner Donald Trump’s momentum over the weekend. Although the two squared off by grabbing two States each, Cruz walked away with more delegates because of his better victory margin.
On a day when the Republican establishment’s favourite, Senator Marco Rubio, came a cropper with a poor overall tally, Cruz won Kansas and Maine even as Trump pricked up louisiana and Kentucky. Overall, Trump has won 12 States so far, with Cruz bagging six and Rubio just one.
In the delegate count that will matter in the final analysis, Senator Cruz has narrowed the gap. While Trump leads with 378 delegates, Cruz now has 295, Rubio 123 and John Kasich 34.
On the Democratic side, Senator Bernie Sanders kept up pressure on Hillary Clinton, winning two States (Kansas and Nebraska). Clinton, who picked up louisiana, enjoys a huge overall lead in the delegate count. While she has 1,121 delegates, Sanders trails badly with just 479.
Saturday’s Republican contests made it clear that it’s essentially going to be a two-man race from now on, with Cruz having emerged as the undisputed challenger to Trump.
For all the noise that the Rubio camp has been making in recent weeks, the Senator from Florida had his worst performance on Saturday. He might have impressed many by locking horns with Trump in the last two debates, but it is clearly Cruz who has emerged the net gainer from the billionaire’s woes.
little wonder, Trump lost little time on Saturday night, demanding that Rubio quit the race and make way for a one-on-one battle between him and Cruz. Rubio, however, promptly rejected the demand. Kasich, the fourth player in the race, has indicated that he would drop out in case he fails to carry his home State of Ohio on March 15.
Cruz termed his latest victories “a manifestation of a real shift in momentum”, saying: “What we’re seeing is conservatives coming together.”