A major night in the GOP primary as Donald Trump has decisively won a blowout victory in Indiana causing Ted Cruz to announce that he is suspending his campaign and will not push forward any longer. Cruz made the announcement around 8:40pm ET. Indiana was called for Trump immediately at 7pm ET when all the polls closed in the Hoosier State.
For all intents and purposes, Donald J. Trump will be the Republican nominee for President in 2016. He will be less than 200 delegates away from reaching 1,237, a task that is almost assured in the remaining primary states.
Report from Politico:
Ted Cruz on Tuesday night dropped out of the presidential race, ending one of the best-organized campaigns of 2016 after a series of stinging defeats left Donald Trump as the only candidate capable of clinching the nomination outright.
Cruz had appeared likely to go all the way to the Republican convention, but a string of massive losses in the Northeast, and his subsequent defeat in Indiana, appear to have convinced him there’s no way forward.
“From the beginning I’ve said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory,” Cruz said, with his wife Heidi by his side. “Tonight I’m sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed.”
“With a heavy heart but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign.”
John Kasich, however, pledged on Tuesday night to stay in the race until a candidate reaches 1,237 bound delegates.
From the start, Cruz has premised his candidacy on the idea that 2016 would be an election driven by resentment toward the established GOP order. It was a strategy that looked prescient as Cruz steadily rose in the polls throughout 2015 and broke into the top tier in Iowa in early 2016.
Video from Cruz just minutes ago making the announcement:
More from Reuters on the Trump victory in Indiana:
Republican front-runner Donald Trump scored an important victory over rival Ted Cruz in Indiana on Tuesday, a win that moves him close to being unstoppable in his march to the party’s presidential nomination.
The New York billionaire was quickly projected to be the winner by television networks shortly after polling places closed in the Midwestern state. Trump was on track to take well over 50 percent of the vote, eclipsing Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas. Ohio Governor John Kasich was running a distant third.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were running virtually neck and neck, with Clinton’s early lead eroded as more votes rolled in.
The Democratic race in Indiana has yet to be decided as of writing and remains too close too call. More to come later including Donald Trump’s speech from his headquarters in New York City.
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