begin quote from:
The Latest: Harry Reid endorses Clinton over Sanders
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., followed by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., walks to meet with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, following a closed-door policy meeting. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had just told reporters the Senate will take no action on anyone President Obama nominates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, as nearly all Republicans rallied behind his calls to leave the seat vacant for the next president to fill. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)
1:27 p.m.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid is endorsing Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
ADVERTISING
Campaign 2016 Email Updates
Get the best analysis of the presidential race.
Reid said he took pains to remain neutral in the competition between Clinton and Bernie Sanders so he would not be accused of rigging the caucuses.
___
12:53 p.m.
John Kasich is sending a message to Republicans who think he should drop out of the GOP presidential contest: “Forget about it.”
With Jeb Bush out of the race, Kasich’s and Marco Rubio’s campaigns are in a fierce battle to become the so-called establishment alternative to front runner Donald Trump.
Kasich’s campaign is running a strategy that relies on surviving through the March 1 Super Tuesday contest and winning Michigan’s March 8 primary. Kasich says people need to “chill out” because there’s a “long way to go” in the GOP nominating contest.
Then, Kasich says he’d love to take on Trump in his home state of Ohio, which holds its winner-take-all primary on March 15.
___
12:12 p.m.
John Kasich’s campaign is unleashing a stream of attacks against Marco Rubio, saying it’s time to “rethink the conventional wisdom” that Rubio is the establishment’s best hope for defeating Donald Trump.
Kasich’s campaign has sent three memos to reporters in fewer than 24 hours slamming Rubio’s campaign strategy, saying he’s proving to be a poor return on investment when comparing his campaign spending with his early-state finishes.
The campaign is attempting to downplay Rubio’s second-place finish in Tuesday night’s Nevada caucuses as a disappointment given how much he spent in the state.
A slate of GOP office holders have lined up behind Rubio, including Bob Dole, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utag and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Kasich has secured several prominent endorsements as well in recent days, including Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor and first director of Homeland Security.
Kasich’s campaign is banking everything on Michigan’s March 8 primary and is making clear the candidate has no plans to drop out soon.
___
11:45 a.m.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump has won his first endorsements from sitting members of Congress.
Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York said Wednesday they are backing Trump for the GOP nomination for president.
Collins said Trump has demonstrated he has “the guts and the fortitude” to help U.S. companies compete with China and take on foreign threats such as the Islamic State and North Korea.
Hunter called Trump a strong leader.
Hunter sponsored a bill passed by the House last year that would shut down funding for so-called sanctuary cities like San Francisco that shield immigrants from deportation by federal authorities.
Democrats accused Republicans of following Trump in demonizing Latinos and dubbed the bill the Donald Trump Act.
___
11:15 a.m.
The Nevada Republican party is reporting that attendance at its Tuesday night caucus set a new record.
The party says more than 75,000 voters attended the caucus. That’s more than twice the 33,000 who caucused in 2012.
Nevada’s Republican caucuses have been plagued by low attendance and other problems since they began in 2008. Democrats have seen stronger turnout numbers. They reported more than 84,000 caucus goers in their caucuses on Saturday.
As expected, the relatively high turnout Tuesday powered Donald Trump to a commanding victory.
___
9:50 a.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed Ted Cruz for president, hoping to give the senator a boost as their home state’s primary looms.
Abbott announced his support in a video released Wednesday morning. He and Cruz are set to appear together in Houston later in the day.
Texas is the largest of “Super Tuesday” states voting next week.
As Texas attorney general, Abbott tapped Cruz as solicitor general. Cruz calls Abbott a friend and mentor.
Cruz was third in Nevada’s caucuses Tuesday, edged out by Marco Rubio. Donald Trump was the commanding winner.
___
9:45 a.m.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is adamant that he is not giving up on South Carolina despite leaving the state to campaign elsewhere days before this early voting state’s primary.
He says his campaign has closed the gap with Hillary Clinton and they are not writing off the state.
Sanders is beginning a multi-state campaign trip, returning to South Carolina just before primary voting Saturday.
___
9:00 a.m.
With his commanding victory in Nevada, Donald Trump has won 14 delegates in the state.
Marco Rubio won seven and Ted Cruz got six. John Kasich and Ben Carson each got one, with one delegate left to be allocated.
Overall, Trump has 81 delegates, and Cruz and Rubio have 17 apiece. Kasich has six delegates and Carson has four. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.
___
8:50 a.m.
Marco Rubio has edged out Ted Cruz for second place in the Nevada caucuses.
The Associated Press finds the difference was fewer than 2,000 votes.
In an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show, Rubio says that it will be easier to stop Donald Trump once the race is narrowed.
Trump was the big winner in Nevada’s Republican caucuses Tuesday. It was his third straight commanding victory in the race for the Republican presidential nominati
