*Follow Townhall coverage tonight for Nebraska and West Virginia primaries*
Nebraska and West Virginia head to the polls Tuesday night. As the general election approaches, it’s becoming all too clear it will not be a popularity contest, considering Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s unfavorable ratings are off the charts. Nevertheless, they are now the standard bearers of the two major political parties.
Republican Primary
With no other opponents left standing, Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee.
Or is he? On Tuesday morning, Ted Cruz suggested that if he somehow manages to pull off a win in Nebraska, he may have a path to victory after all and be encouraged to renew his campaign. Nevertheless, Trump is looking toward November, putting out all the stops on social media, hitting Clinton for her failure in Benghazi on Instagram and previewing on Twitter his meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday to discuss party unity.
I look very much forward to meeting w/Paul Ryan & the GOP Party Leadership on Thurs in DC. Together, we will beat the Dems at all levels!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2016
Key Demos: Trump is again confronted with his history of controversial remarks toward women after a pro-Clinton Super PAC released an ad called “Donald Trump ‘Respects’ Women…” He has long had an issue with the female demographic. Yet, he is primed to win the white male working class vote, if this report is any indication.
Meanwhile, a Military Times survey reveals that our troops are more likely to support a Trump presidency over Clinton in November. However, 20 percent of servicemen and women who participated in the survey said they are disenchanted with the election and vowed to stay home. “They all suck,” wrote one member.
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Endorsements: Govs. Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal raised eyebrows with their endorsements of Trump this week. Both former presidential candidates had choice words for the businessman last summer as the 2016 campaign was just getting underway. Perry called Trump a “cancer on conservatism” and Jindal said he was an “egomaniac.” In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Jindal said he stands by his former criticisms of Trump, but because America can’t afford to have third Obama term in the form of Hillary Clinton, he is voting for Trump – warts and all. As for Perry, he says voting for Trump is a “no-brainer” because the alternative would be an “absolute disaster.”
As for those Republicans who said they cannot in good conscience support Trump, the businessman accused them of breaking the GOP loyalty pledge. Flashback: Trump refused to support the eventual nominee at the very first presidential debate.
Democratic Primary
Hillary Clinton: Polls were not nice to Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. A new set of Quinnipiac surveys that show her neck-and-neck with Trump in key swing states have shocked pundits who insisted she will beat Trump by a landslide in November. An NBC news poll, although it showed Clinton up overall among Democrats, revealed that voters believe Bernie Sanders is more electable than her in a potential matchup with Trump.
The campaign trail isn’t treating her any better. On Monday in Virginia, Clinton struggled to give a concerned voter any concrete answers as to why her health care bills keep rising as a result of Obamacare.
Bernie Sanders: Sanders is expected to win in West Virginia Tuesday night. It may come as no surprise, considering voters in coal country have not forgotten her pledge earlier this year to put coal companies “out of business.” Young people are still voting for him in droves, but will they be turned away by a new report that reveals his freebies will cost $33 trillion?
Delegate Count
Republicans (1,237 needed to win nomination)
Trump - 1,068
Democrats (2,383 needed to win nomination)
Clinton - Total: 2,228 (Pledged delegates: 1,705; Superdelegates: 523)
Sanders - Total: 1,454 (Pledged delegates: 1,415; Superdelegates: 39)
Primary Schedule
Tuesday, May 10 - D/R Primaries in Nebraska and West Virginia
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