So far, at 2:00pm on Sunday Pacific time Cruz is winning in Kansas with 50.3 % Trump 24.5% Rubio 13.7% and Kasich 9.9%. However, only 8% of the Republican vote is counted so far. I'm not sure about this but I think someone said that Sanders was winning in Kansas too on the Democratic side.
begin quote from:
Voters Head to Primaries and Caucuses in 5 States
| New York Times | - |
The
hunt for delegates picks back up on “Super Saturday” as voters head to
primaries and caucuses across five states and Donald J. Trump and
Hillary Clinton try to extend their leads in the Republican and
Democratic presidential races.
The hunt for delegates picks back up on “Super Saturday” as voters head to primaries and caucuses across five states and Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton try to extend their leads in the Republican and Democratic presidential races.
The
elections — in Kansas, Louisiana, Maine and Kentucky for Republicans,
and Kansas, Louisiana and Nebraska for Democrats — fall between last
week’s Super Tuesday and March 15, when a swath of big states, including
Florida and Ohio, hold votes that could ultimately determine the fate
of the race. On Saturday, there are 155 delegates at stake for
Republicans and 126 for Democrats.
Mr. Trump is riding a wave of momentum after a successful Super Tuesday,
when he a won seven states and expanded his delegate lead. Since then,
however, he has come under increasing scrutiny from his three remaining
opponents and from party elders, such as Mitt Romney, over his business
record and temperament.
Since his blistering takedown of Mr. Trump
on Thursday, Mr. Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, has kept up the
pressure, vowing never to vote for the Manhattan billionaire and
suggesting that he would not be opposed to a contested convention. Mr.
Romney also did not rule out using his personal fortune to further the
“Never Trump” cause.
It
remains to be seen whether an uneven debate performance on Thursday
night, when his tendency to shift his positions was highlighted, will
erode Mr. Trump’s support. So far, his base has been remarkably durable
despite the emergence of new controversies almost daily.
Polling
has been relatively sparse for the Saturday elections, but most surveys
have shown Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton holding sizable leads. Although
the five states are less well traveled by the campaigns than were Iowa,
New Hampshire and South Carolina, the contests will provide an important
test of how the candidates appeal to voters in the Northeast, the South
and the middle of the country.
The
outcomes could also prove to be unpredictable. Other than Louisiana’s,
the elections on Saturday are caucuses, and Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton
have been weaker in caucus states than they have been in primary states.
It also remains to be seen which way supporters of Ben Carson will
break since he officially dropped out of the Republican race on Friday.
Another
potential hitch for Mr. Trump is that the Republican states are all
closed elections, meaning only registered Republicans can vote. This
could limit the impact of his crossover appeal with Democrats and
independents, who can vote in the Republican race in states that have
open primaries.
This Is Trump Country
“There’s
talk about how Trump might not be doing as well in closed primary
states,” said Kyle Kondik, of the University of Virginia Center for
Politics. “This week might give a better sense of whether the open
versus closed phenomenon is meaningful.”
Results are expected to start trickling in by late afternoon in Kansas and Kentucky and in the evening in the other states.
Strong
showings will be especially important for Senators Marco Rubio and Ted
Cruz. Mr. Rubio, of Florida, has won only the Minnesota caucuses and
could soon face an insurmountable delegate deficit. Mr. Cruz, of Texas,
has been victorious in four states and is desperately trying to make the
case that he is the only one who can beat Mr. Trump consistently.
Mr.
Rubio is spending Saturday in Puerto Rico, where he will court voters
ahead of its primary election on Sunday, while Mr. Cruz is splitting his
time between Kansas and Idaho.
Mr.
Trump abruptly scheduled a last-minute rally in Wichita, Kan., on
Saturday after he withdrew from a planned appearance at the Conservative
Political Action Conference in Maryland, disappointing some grass-roots
activists there.
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