Three in a row for Republican front-runner Donald Trump has added the Nevada caucus to his wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina. That puts him in great shape to roll on in the first of two Super Tuesday’s stating on March 1st.
Last night Trump scored 45.9% of the vote followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio getting 23.9 % and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 21.4% with all the of the votes counted this morning. So, just like Saturday in South Carolina, the margin for second place is likely be just around 1,000 votes.
The outcome was bad news for Marco Rubio, who is now 0 for 4 in the February contests, and Ted Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses but finished a disappointing third in South Carolina on Saturday. Through three states, Trump has 67 delegates with Cruz holding 11, followed by Rubio at 10, with five for John Kasich and three for Ben Carson.
The Nevada Republican caucuses will give out 30 delegates on a proportional basis that will be determined later today. Trump is likely to get as many as 20 delegates with Rubio and Cruz both getting 5 delegates.
For the record candidates need 1,237 delegates to become the nominee, and that is why things are setting up very good for Trump for the first Super Tuesday on March 1st that will include a showdown in Texas with Cruz. Then the other Super Tuesday set for March 15th, which includes the big prizes of Florida and Ohio.
That means Trump goes head to head with Rubio in Florida and Kasich in Ohio, if he pulls off wins over the favorite son’s then this race could be over. By the morning of March 16th Trump could have amassed as many as 70% of the delegates needed for the nomination.
Stopping Trump now looks like he could be nearly impossible after crushing both Rubio and Cruz in Nevada on Tuesday, scoring huge wins across nearly every cross-section of the Republican Party. Looking at the entrance polls show Trump won moderate voters and very conservative voters by huge margins.
He won in rural and urban areas, and among voters with only high school diplomas and those with post-graduate degrees. Trump even handily bested Cruz among his supposed base of evangelical Christians, and, though the sample was small, topped his two Cuban-American opponents among Hispanic caucus-goers.
There will be a debate on Thursday on CNN at 9 p.m. and we will be doing a live twitter chat. Join us at @NTFLA_POLITICS and help discuss the issues and who won the debate along with what will happen come Super Tuesday one on March 1st.