John Kasich was the only candidate not to emerge with at least one win on “Western Tuesday” (full results here.) The presidential candidates all responded to the Brussels’ terror attack, some calling for unity and peace, others criticizing the relaxed European immigration policy that has unfortunately paved the way for the current dangerous climate. Several GOP contenders, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, criticized President Obama’s decision to remain in Cuba as Belgium was still reeling from the carnage.
The Democrats face off in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington this Saturday. Republican voters, meanwhile, can breathe for two weeks as the GOP primary goes on a two-week hiatus.
Republican Primary
Donald Trump: It wouldn’t be a day in the 2016 campaign if Trump wasn’t the subject of a controversial headline. On Tuesday night, as voting was getting underway, his campaign sent out a threatening tweet to Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi. They quickly deleted the message, yet the damage was done. Cruz responded by calling Trump a “coward.” Trump, the Republican frontrunner, won another primary Tuesday night in Arizona, bringing him closer to the delegate tally needed to win the nomination. A new Politico poll reveals that most Republicans think the party should unite behind him.
Ted Cruz: Cruz had a decisive win in Utah Tuesday night, amassing all 40 delegates. He also racked up a bunch of endorsements, including former presidential rival Gov. Jeb Bush and popular conservative Rep. Mia Love. On Wednesday, he gained the support of the conservative Club For Growth PAC. Cruz is facing backlash, however, for his proposal to monitor Muslim neighborhoods in the United States. In Argentina, President Obama called such a plan “un-American.”
After Tuesday’s results, Cruz is again telling Kasich to get out of the race, noting he can’t keep losing contests and expect to win the nomination. On “The O’Reilly Factor” Tuesday night, Cruz reiterated that he is the only candidate who can beat Trump to the 1,237 delegate count. In the same interview, O’Reilly agreed to moderate a debate between Cruz and Trump, should both candidates be willing.
John Kasich: As noted, Kasich has come up empty in another Super Tuesday. Embarrassingly, he even came in fourth in Arizona. Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race last week, came in third thanks to early voting. Maybe he’ll take a hint?
Democrat Primary
Hillary Clinton won Arizona Tuesday night, yet shouldn’t celebrate too much. Later in the evening, her opponent Bernie Sanders pulled off a landslide win in Utah and also won the Idaho caucus. Clinton is expected to give a speech on counterterrorism today at Stanford University.
Delegate Count
As the below graphic indicates, the non-Trump crowd is leading 790 to 753.
Interestingly, several sources are reporting different delegate numbers. Just check out the inconsistencies below:
