Ted Cruz Wins Wisconsin Primary
Tuesday, 05 Apr 2016 11:07 PM
Ted Cruz won the Wisconsin presidential primary on Tuesday, dealing a blow to front-runner Donald Trump's hopes of amassing the delegates needed for the party's nomination ahead of the July convention and boosting the chances of a rare contested convention.
"Tonight is a turning point," Cruz told supporters in Milwaukee. "It is a rallying cry."
Cruz's double-digit win over Trump was a breakthrough for Republican Party forces battling to block the controversial New York billionaire, and it raised the prospect of a prolonged nomination fight that could last to the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders also won in Wisconsin, gaining momentum in his fight against front-runner Hillary Clinton and trimming her commanding lead in delegates.
Trump entered the night with 737 convention delegates to Cruz's 481, leaving him 500 delegates short of the 1,237 needed to become the party's nominee in the Nov. 8 election.
But Cruz said the party was beginning to rally to his campaign and he was cutting Trump's lead, although he acknowledged the growing possibility the fight could go all the way to the convention.
"Either before Cleveland, or at the convention in Cleveland, together we will win a majority of the delegates and together we will beat Hillary Clinton in November," Cruz told cheering supporters in Milwaukee.
"We're winning because we're uniting the Republican Party," he said.
Cruz, a conservative U.S. senator from Texas, was aided in Wisconsin by Republican Governor Scott Walker, who dropped his own presidential bid in September, and by a barrage of ads from Super PACS - independent funding groups - backed by party establishment figures worried that Trump will lead Republicans to a broad defeat in November.
The Wisconsin primary also capped a difficult week for Trump, who was forced to backtrack after saying women who have abortions should face punishment if the procedure is outlawed, and who voiced support for his campaign manager after he was charged with misdemeanor assault for grabbing a reporter.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed Cruz about even with Trump nationally, with Cruz's recent gains the first time since November that a Trump rival has threatened his standing at the head of the Republican pack.
The poll of 568 Republicans, taken between April 1-5, showed Cruz winning the support of 35 percent of Republicans to Trump's 39 percent. Cruz and Trump were also briefly about even early last week.
As recently as a month ago, when Senator Marco Rubio was also still a candidate, Cruz trailed Trump by about 20 points.
© 2016 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, 05 Apr 2016 11:07 PM
Ted Cruz won the Wisconsin presidential primary on Tuesday, dealing a blow to front-runner Donald Trump's hopes of amassing the delegates needed for the party's nomination ahead of the July convention and boosting the chances of a rare contested convention.
"Tonight is a turning point," Cruz told supporters in Milwaukee. "It is a rallying cry."
Cruz's double-digit win over Trump was a breakthrough for Republican Party forces battling to block the controversial New York billionaire, and it raised the prospect of a prolonged nomination fight that could last to the July convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders also won in Wisconsin, gaining momentum in his fight against front-runner Hillary Clinton and trimming her commanding lead in delegates.
Trump entered the night with 737 convention delegates to Cruz's 481, leaving him 500 delegates short of the 1,237 needed to become the party's nominee in the Nov. 8 election.
But Cruz said the party was beginning to rally to his campaign and he was cutting Trump's lead, although he acknowledged the growing possibility the fight could go all the way to the convention.
"Either before Cleveland, or at the convention in Cleveland, together we will win a majority of the delegates and together we will beat Hillary Clinton in November," Cruz told cheering supporters in Milwaukee.
"We're winning because we're uniting the Republican Party," he said.
Cruz, a conservative U.S. senator from Texas, was aided in Wisconsin by Republican Governor Scott Walker, who dropped his own presidential bid in September, and by a barrage of ads from Super PACS - independent funding groups - backed by party establishment figures worried that Trump will lead Republicans to a broad defeat in November.
The Wisconsin primary also capped a difficult week for Trump, who was forced to backtrack after saying women who have abortions should face punishment if the procedure is outlawed, and who voiced support for his campaign manager after he was charged with misdemeanor assault for grabbing a reporter.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed Cruz about even with Trump nationally, with Cruz's recent gains the first time since November that a Trump rival has threatened his standing at the head of the Republican pack.
The poll of 568 Republicans, taken between April 1-5, showed Cruz winning the support of 35 percent of Republicans to Trump's 39 percent. Cruz and Trump were also briefly about even early last week.
As recently as a month ago, when Senator Marco Rubio was also still a candidate, Cruz trailed Trump by about 20 points.
© 2016 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
