US primaries: Trump win in Indiana should seal his candidacy
New poll puts Trump 15 points ahead of Cruz.
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Hawke’s Bay
Donald Trump holds all the cards in the Indiana primary, which is make-or-break for Ted Cruz’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Mr Cruz needs to break Mr Trump’s winning streak in the crucial primary (Wednesday, NZ time) if he is to stand any chance at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.
If Mr Trump makes a clean sweep of all 57 delegates in Indiana, he stands a good chance of clinching the required 1237 by the end of the primaries on June 7 that will give him the candidacy ahead of the convention.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist Poll of voters in Indiana gives Mr Trump a 15-point lead over Mr Cruz, who has made an agreement with third-placed John Kasich to stand aside.
According to the poll, this strategy has not pleased a majority of Republican voters.
It finds that 58% of likely Republican primary voters disapprove of the Cruz-Kasich deal and see it as “further proof the Republicans are trying to rig the game against Trump.”
One-third of Republicans approve of the deal and “of doing everything possible to stop Trump from being the Republican nominee.”
Mr Trump is the first choice of 49% of likely Republican voters with 34% favouring Mr Cruz and 13% for Mr Kasich.
The Democratic race is much closer, with frontrunner Hillary Clinton holding a narrow, four-point lead over Bernie Sanders among likely Democratic voters in Indiana, the poll finds.
It shows Mrs Clinton is the first choice with 50% of voters to Mr Sanders’ 46%.
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Nevil Gibson
Mon, 02 May 2016
Mon, 02 May 2016
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US primaries: Trump win in Indiana should seal his candidacy
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