Donald
Trump claimed victory in both West Virginia and Nebraska GOP primaries
as his race for the Republican presidential candidacy continues almost
unchallenged.
The
billionaire, who delivered on a promised blowout win in the heart of
Appalachian coal country, is virtually assured of being the GOP's
standard-bearer for the general election in November.
He
faced little competition after his closest rival Ted Cruz announced he
was dropping out after his defeat in Indiana last week. Fellow
Republican candidate John Kasich followed him out of the race the
following day.
Cruz
had hinted that he could be persuaded to restart his campaign if he won
the Nebraska primary. The Republican had the ability to jump back in
the race, having only 'suspended' his campaign, and having gotten
himself on the ballot in upcoming states.
But Trump's win in Nebraska on Tuesday crushes any dreams of Cruz returning to the presidential election race.
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Cruz had previously admitted he had not been 'holding his breath' before tonight's results.
'We
launched this campaign intending to win. The reason we suspended our
campaign was that with the Indiana loss, I felt there was no path to
victory,' Cruz told talk host Glenn Beck, who was a big supporter on the
campaign trail.
'If that changes, we will certainly respond accordingly,' Cruz added, saying he was not ready to support Trump.
Trump
won 71.6 per cent of the vote on Tuesday's West Virginia primary and
secured three delegates. The state win brings him ever closer to the
1,237 delegates he needs to officially close out the nomination.
Ted Cruz trailed behind in second with 14.9 per cent while John Kasich limped in last place with only 8.2 per cent.
Meanwhile,
in Nebraska, Trump took 59.9 per cent of the vote, winning
36 delegates, compared to Cruz's 19 per cent and Kasich's 13.9.
Following his sweeping victories, Trump said it had been an honor to win both states by such 'massive margins.'
He
added that time spent in Nebraska and West Virginia had been
'enlightening' and he was hoping to repeat his success there in the
primaries, during the general election.
'Likewise,
my time spent last week with the great people of Oregon will hopefully
lead to another victory next Tuesday,' he added.
In
the Democratic camp, Bernie Sanders edged out Hilary Clinton, with 51.2
per cent to 36.1, taking home 29 delegates in West Virginia.
Exit
polls reveal that Republican voters in West Virginia today said that
their most important issues are the economy and jobs while any candidate
would have to bring in change.
Nebraskans say they want a candidate who 'tells it like it is' - indicating they may support the notoriously unfiltered Trump.
Voters
in both states believe that Trump may be able to beat Clinton in the
presidential election in November while the majority of Republicans say
they'd vote for Trump over Hillary.
More than a million voters took to the polls in Nebraska and West Virginia.
Donald Trump claimed victory in both
West Virginia and Nebraska GOP primaries as his race for the Republican
presidential candidacy continues almost unchallenged (pictured at Trump
Tower on Tuesday)
Cruz had hinted that he could be persuaded to restart his campaign if he wins the Nebraska primary
Crushed: Trump's win in Nebraska on Tuesday ends any dreams of Cruz returning to the presidential election race
Trump had been campaigning in West Virginia in the run up to tonight's primary.
On Thursday, he launched his general election campaign in nearly a year that didn't take a single shot at another Republican.
'I
actually wish the primaries were not over. It's no fun this way,' the
Republican Party's presidential nominee-in-waiting told an estimated
13,000 people in Charleston, West Virginia.
'But everybody's out. I'm the only one left!'
He even said no one needed to vote on Tuesday, claiming he had already 'won all your delegates.'
Despite
his assurances, primary races will be fought out in every legislative
district, including a hotly contested congressional contest.
Trump
even donned a hard hat and pretended to shovel coal at the rally where
he pledged to support the struggling coal mining industry.
'I'm going to put miners back to work,' the billionaire businessman said, before launching a stinging attack on Clinton.
Trump
spent only a few seconds noting the expanding legal quagmire
surrounding 'Crooked Hillary's' classified email scandal, focusing
instead on her embarrassingly candid statement that coal mining, a West
Virginia economic mainstay, should be a casualty of a new green-energy
economy.
'We have to win the general election. We cannot take Hillary Clinton any more,' he said.
'We
can't take any more of the Clinton stuff, which is another 4 years of
Obama. You can't take it folks. You're gonna have your mines closed, 100
per cent.'
Trump had been
campaigning in West Virginia in the run up to tonight's primary. On
Thursday, he launched his general election campaign in nearly a year
that didn't take a single shot at another Republican (pictured at a
rally in Charleston last week)
The billionaire delivered on a
promised blowout win in the heart of Appalachian coal country where he
promised to support the struggling industry
The Republican presumptive nominee
even donned a hard hat and pretended to shovel coal at the Charleston
rally where he told the crowd he was going to 'put miners back to work'
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump supporters held their own rally in Charleston, on the night of the primary
With Trump now the presumptive Republican nominee, his bitter rivalry with Democratic front-runner Clinton has intensified.
This
morning, Trump attacked Clinton over her husband Bill's infamous sex
scandal while he was in office, telling reporters she was an 'enabler'
and that the women involved were 'destroyed.'
'Some of those women were destroyed not by him but by the way Hillary Clinton treated them after everything that went down.'
'And they are going after me with women? Give me a break folks.'
He also claimed that men were 'petrified to speak to women any more' and that women 'got it better than we do folks.'
Clinton
hit back and the billionaire real estate mogul, saying she was focused
on her own campaign, not running against a rival, saying Trump was doing
that job for her.
'I
have been very clear that a lot of his rhetoric is not only reckless,
but dangerous,' she said, branding him the 'presumptive nominee'.
After Trump won a blowout in Indiana, the real estate mogul's path to getting the needed 1,237 delegates eased considerably.
Cruz
made his comments as top Republicans, including House Speaker Paul
Ryan, have held off giving their support to Trump, while other
Republicans are skipping the GOP convention or withholding their
support.
Trump said he was blind sided by the decision by Ryan not to back him.
He insisted he can win even with a fractured Republican party because he could bring in new, Democratic voters.
Meanwhile
former Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio made it clear
today that he is not interested in being a running mate to Trump after
the presumptive nominee praised Rubio this morning.
On
Monday night, Cruz participated in a conference call with some of his
top supporters, where there was talk of being a force at the convention
this summer – but not about somehow trying to salvage Cruz's campaign
effort.
'They
made a point of saying, 'This is not something nefarious we're plotting
at the convention,'' Rep. Ken Buck told Politico. 'The Cruz team
really just wants to make sure the platform reflects conservative values
so that conservatives are excited about turning out this November and
in the future.'
Cruz is considered to be interested in keeping his political options alive for a possible run in 2020.
He
quit the race after going all out to win Indiana and getting routed by
Trump. Just hours before exiting the race, he delivered an extended rant
against Trump, who he slammed Trump as 'utterly amoral' and a
'pathological liar' who wasn't a true conservative.
He
also warned his supporters that Trump will 'betray you on every issue'
while he branded the Republican a 'bully' who was terrified of strong
women.
Cruz is expected to return to the Senate today for the first time since his loss.
Following
Cruz dropping out the race, Trump praised his 'brave' decision saying
Cruz was among a group of his former competitors – including endorsers
Chris Christie and Ben Carson – whom he hoped would remain engaged in
the party, even as they licked their wounds from a vicious season of
insults and attack ads.
l said
he had met 'some of the most incredible competitors that I have ever
competed against, right here, in the Republican Party.'
'We've
got to keep them totally involved, because we're going to win. We're
going to win in November. And we're going to win big.'
'What
Ted did is really a very brave thing to do,' he said of the Texan's
decision to resist prolonging the inevitable by bowing out instead of
subjecting the GOP to a lengthy floor fight during July's convention in
Cleveland.
'We want to bring unity to the Republican party. We have to bring unity.'
'We're going after Hillary Clinton,' he said, looking ahead to what will be an expensive and protracted fall.
'She will not be a great president. She will not be a good president. She will be a poor president.'
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