Ted Cruz-John Kasich alliance fails, Donald Trump wins GOP primary in Indiana
May 3, 2016, 4:03 PM | Updated: 6:27 pm
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves a rally at The Palladium in Carmel, Ind., Monday, May 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
A political alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich failed to block Donald Trump from winning the Indiana Republican presidential primary on Tuesday.
BREAKING: Republican Donald Trump wins the #IndianaPrimary. @AP race call at 7 p.m. EDT. #Election2016 #APracecall pic.twitter.com/nlC0AS9Kr5
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 3, 2016
Trump’s Indiana win is the knockout blow in the GOP race for the nomination after Ted Cruz ended his campaign Tuesday.
“Honestly, if we win Indiana, it’s over. It’s over. They’re finished. They’re gone,” Trump told voters at a rally in Carmel, Ind.
With Cruz dropping out Tuesday, Trump was right. Multiple states have yet to hold a primary, but Trump’s win edged the New York billionaire ever closer to the 1,237 delegates needed to claim the nomination outright.
“I don’t know if Ted Cruz likes me or doesn’t like me, but he is one hell of a competitor,”Trump said during a victory speech after learning of Cruz’s decision to leave the race.
The failure of Cruz’s odd alliance with Kasich is another sign that momentum is with Trump. The Ohio governor resigned in the state so Cruz could run unopposed against Trump, but the measure failed. An NBC poll found nearly 6 in 10 Indiana primary voters disapproved of the Cruz-Kasich arrangement.
Tuesday’s win for Trump was a big blow to Cruz, who has been trying every trick in the book in hopes of turning July’s Republican National Convention into a contested one. He even went as far as to declare former candidate Carly Fiorina his running mate, which is out of the norm for a candidate to do.
None of this phased Trump, who is confident of winning the nomination prior to the convention.
.@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton
— Reince Priebus (@Reince) May 4, 2016
“We’ll win it next week or the week after or the week after, and it’s fine, because they have no path and I have an easy path,” Trump said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
