Editors Note: "It was a moment of truth in the Republican race for the White House: Front-runner Donald Trump won North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri and Florida, a crown jewel of Tuesday’s primaries." Leave Ohio on the table.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. JOIN US Stay Informed: GODS LITTLE ARMY aka GLA... www.GLA.news
By Chelsea Schilling
Trump officially passed the half-way mark of required delegates for the Republican nomination.
After his big victory in Ohio, Kasich asked his audience to applaud Marco Rubio, who announced suspension of his campaign after the loss of his home state, Florida, to Trump.
“I want to remind all of you tonight that I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land,” Kasich said, adding that he is headed to Philadelphia next.
“Here is what I want all of you to know: We’ve got one more trip around Ohio this coming fall when we will beat Hillary Clinton, and I will become president of the United States,” he said. “God bless you all!”
Trump told his supporters, “If I win, Apple and all these great companies will be making their products in the U.S.”
He continued, “The people that are voting: Democrats are coming in, independents are coming in, people that have never voted before. … I’m having a good time. I’m having a very nice time. But I’m working very hard.”
Campaign signs posted in Ohio (Photo: Twitter/MLSchultze)
Regarding Rubio’s suspension of his campaign, Trump said, “He’s tough, he’s smart and he’s got a great future.”
As for Rubio, he told a crowd of supporters, “I want to congratulate Donald Trump on his big victory in Florida. America is in the middle of a real political storm. A real tsunami. … I still remain hopeful and optimistic about America. While today my campaign is suspended, the fact that I’ve come this far is evidence of how special this nation truly is.”
Later in the evening, Ted Cruz declared, “After tonight, America has a clear choice going forward … To those who supported Rubio, who worked so hard, we welcome you with open arms, with gratitude and hope and with a positive vision together. Starting tomorrow morning, every Republican has a clear choice. Only two campaign campaigns have a plausible path to the nomination, ours and Donald Trump’s. Only one campaign has beaten Trump over and over again, not once, not twice, but nine times all across the country from Alaska to Maine.
Cruz asked, “Going forward, the choice is straightforward: Do you want a candidate that shares your values, or a candidate that has spent decades opposing your values? The mainstream media want Donald Trump as the Republican nominee. That is why they have given him hundreds of millions in free advertising, because they are partisan Democrats ready for Hillary, and they know Trump may be one of the few on the face of the earth that Clinton can beat in the general election. The media, though, are not going to decide the election; the voters will. Here is our vision for America: It is an America with a brighter future, an America with more safety and more security, an America that is greater tomorrow than it was yesterday.”
He continued, “We will fire government regulators and appeal job-killing regulations. And together, we will take the boot of government off the backs of small businesses all across this country. It’s not about the cronyism and bailouts that far too many Republicans and Democrats have done over and over to benefit the rich and powerful. Instead, less government is freedom.”
Cruz said that two debates ago, Trump said he would compromise with Harry Reid on replacing the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“Our rights hang in the balance, and let me be clear: I will not compromise away your religious liberty,” Cruz said. “I will not compromise away your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Every justice I appoint to the court will be faithful to the law and furiously protect the Bill of Rights for your children and for mine.”
But former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that once Trump captures Florida, the GOP “won’t be able to stop him.”
“If Trump gets big numbers in Florida, you’re not going to be able to stop him,” Gingrich told Breitbart. “You’ll just tear the party apart.”
Regarding the idea of a contested GOP convention, Gingrich said: “I think it’s insane. … Millions and millions of people will have voted. … The idea that somebody’s gonna magically appear and push those two guys aside? … They’re not gonna turn this over to some guy who represents the establishment.”
Kasich’s Ohio campaign had been heating up in recent days, and he appeared at more than 10 events before Tuesday evening’s primary.
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney stumped for Kasich Monday, telling a crowd in North Canton, Ohio: “You look at this guy and unlike the other people running, he has a real track record. He has the kind of record that you want in Washington. That’s why I’m convinced you’re going to do the right thing tomorrow – agreed?”
Meanwhile, Cruz hoped to secure enough delegates to make his case that only he can deny Trump the GOP nomination.
There were 358 GOP delegates up for grabs Tuesday. To win the nomination, a Republican candidate must secure 1,237 delegates.
The next delegate-rich states are Arizona (58 delegates), Utah (40), Wisconsin (42) and New York (95).
Florida
99 Republican delegates – winner take all
(Polls closed at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. EDT)
With 99 percent reporting:
Trump: 45.8 percent
Rubio: 27 percent
Cruz: 17.1 percent
Kasich: 6.8 percent
Ohio
66 Republican delegates – winner take all
(Polls closed at 7:30 p.m. EDT)
With 99 percent reporting:
Kasich: 47.1 percent
Trump: 35.9 percent
Cruz: 13.2 percent
Rubio: 2.3 percent
North Carolina
72 Republican delegates – proportional
(Polls closed at 7:30 p.m. EDT)
With 99 percent reporting:
Trump: 40.3 percent
Cruz: 36.8 percent
Kasich: 12.7 percent
Rubio: 7.7 percent
Illinois
69 Republican delegates – winner take all
(Polls closed at 8 p.m. EDT)
With 97 percent reporting:
Trump: 38.9 percent
Cruz: 30.5 percent
Kasich: 19.6 percent
Rubio: 8.5 percent
Missouri
52 Republican delegates – winner take all
(Polls closed at 8 p.m. EDT)
With 100 percent reporting:
Trump: 40.8 percent
Cruz: 40.7 percent
Kasich: 10.1 percent
Rubio: 6.1 percent
