Ted Cruz clinches No. 2 GOP spot, Marco Rubio wins Minnesota
Mar 1, 2016, 9:45 PM | Updated: Mar 2, 2016, 1:58 am
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, waves as he arrives for his election night watch party Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Stafford, Texas. At left is Heidi Cruz, his daughters and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
After everything was said and done on Super Tuesday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was left firmly in the No. 2 spot for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, winning Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska.
However, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has won the Republican presidential caucuses in Minnesota, earning his first victory in the 2016 race for the White House.
Rubio won second place in Nevada and South Carolina but still trails rivals Donald Trump and fellow Sen. Ted Cruz in the much-needed delegates needed to win his party’s nomination.
But Rubio has won overwhelming support from members of Congress and governors who see him as the most viable alternative to the billionaire businessman, who holds a commanding lead in delegates a month into the contest.
Most preference polls had Rubio beating Sen. Ted Cruz in nearly every state, save for Cruz’s home state of Texas, however Cruz won big in Texas, neighboring Oklahoma and barely beat out the billionaire Trump to take home Alaska.
Cruz desperately needed his win in Texas in order to stay in the race, and was likely to keep campaigning as the only Republican who has been able to defeat Trump in any primary contest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
