ഡൊണള്‍ഡ് ട്രമ്പിനു വെല്ലുവിളി ഉയര്‍ത്തിക്കൊണ്ടു ടെഡ് ക്രുസ് മെയിന്‍, കാന്‍സാസ് കോക്കസുകളില്‍ വിജയിച്ചു. കൂടുതല്‍ ഡെലിഗേറ്റുകല്‍ ഉള്ള ലൂയിസിയാനയിലുംകെന്റക്കിയിലുംട്രമ്പും വിജയിച്ചു.
സെനറ്റര്‍ മാര്‍ക്കോ റൂബിായോയും ഒഹായോ ഗവര്‍ണര്‍ ജോണ്‍ കാസിക്കുംപിന്നിലായതോടേ തെരെഞ്ഞെടുപ്പിലെ അവരുടെ പ്രസക്തി തന്നെ സന്ദേഹത്തിലായി. ഇരുവരോടും മത്സരം അവസാനിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ ടെഡ് ക്രുസ് ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുണ്ട്. റൂബിയോ ഇതേ വരെ മിനസോട്ടയില്‍ മാത്രമാണു വിജയിച്ചത്.
ഡെലിഗേറ്റുകളുടെ എണ്ണത്തീല്‍ ട്രമ്പ് ഏറെ മുന്നില്‍ നില്‍ക്കുന്നുണ്ടെങ്കിലും ടേഡ് ക്രൂസ് ഇനിയും വെല്ലുവിളി ഉയര്‍ത്തിക്കൂടായിക്കൂടായ്കയില്ല. ട്രമ്പിനെ സ്ഥാനാര്‍ഥിയാക്കരുതെന്നാഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവരെല്ലാം ക്രുസിനു പിന്തുണയുമായെത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്.
ഡേമോക്രാറ്റിക് പാര്‍ട്ടിയില്‍ ലൂസിയാന പ്രൈമറിയില്‍ ഹില്ലരി ക്ലിന്റണ്‍ വിജയിച്ചു. നെബ്രാസ്‌കയിലും കാന്‍സാസിലും ബെണി സാന്‍ഡേഴ്‌സ് ആണു വിജയിച്ചത്. രണ്ട് സ്റ്റേറ്റ് നേടിയെങ്കിലും ഡെലിഗേറ്റുകളുടെ എണ്ണത്തില്‍ മുന്നില്‍ നില്‍ക്കുന്ന ഹില്ലരിയെ പിന്തള്ളുക സാധ്യമല്ലെന്നാണു നിരീക്ഷകര്‍ കരുതുന്നത്.
Trump, Clinton share spoils with rivals in primaries
Washington, March 6 (IANS) The march of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to Republican and Democratic presidential nominations was slowed a little as rivals Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders notched two more wins each in five nomination contests.
While real estate mogul added Louisiana primaries and Kentucky caucuses on Saturday to his 10 victories in 15 states earlier, Texas Senator Ted Cruz put Kansas and Maine in his victory column to slow the Trump train.
Though with 12 victories to date, Trump remains far ahead overall in the Republican contest, Cruz’s two wins Saturday combined with his earlier success in four other states — Iowa, Nevada, Oklahoma and Alaska — back up his claim to be Trump’s main rival.
“I have been in competitions all of my life,” Trump said in a press conference at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. “There is nothing so exciting as this stuff.”
But rival Cruz said at an event in Idaho, which votes on Tuesday, that “the scream you hear-the howl you hear from Washington, DC – is utter terror for what we the people are doing together. What we’re seeing is conservatives coming together”.
“I think what it represents is Republicans coalescing, saying it would be a disaster for Donald Trump to be our nominee and we’re going to stand behind the strongest conservative in the race,” he said.
Boasting of his “breadth of support”, Cruz suggested it was time for the other two Republican candidates, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich, to consider dropping out of the race.
Establishment favourite Rubio, who has won only one state so far, put on a brave face, saying that the states being contested on Super Saturday favoured other candidates, but predicted that his fortunes would soon change.
He predicted victory in his home state of Florida on March 15, but polls show Trump leading him by double digits there.
On the Democratic side, self-styled Democratic Socialist Sanders won in Nebraska and Kansas, while Clinton picked up another win in Louisiana, where black voters make up a large portion of the Democratic electorate.
In a statement after his victory in Kansas, Sanders pointed to wins in a geographic range of states. “We have now won double-digit victories from New England to the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains to the Midwest,” Sanders said.
“Tonight, we won Kansas with a good vote. We won Nebraska with a good vote,” he said. “I think we are going to do well in Maine tomorrow. We are going to do very well here on Tuesday.”
Saturday’s results were not likely to alter the broader contours of the Democratic race as Clinton maintains a significant delegate lead.
Senator Ted Cruz scored decisive wins in the Kansas and Maine caucuses on Saturday, demonstrating his enduring appeal among conservatives as he tried to reel in Donald J. Trump’s significant lead in the Republican presidential race.
Mr. Trump contained Mr. Cruz’s advances by winning in Louisiana and Kentucky. But the Texas senator’s wins were sure to energize the anti-Trump forces who are desperately trying to stop Mr. Trump’s march to the nomination, and they left little doubt that Mr. Cruz, who has now captured six states, is their best hope.
In Democratic contests, Hillary Clinton scored a commanding victory in Louisiana, the state with the most delegates in play on Saturday, while Senator Bernie Sanders won the Nebraska and Kansas caucuses, according to The Associated Press. The results did not alter the contours of a race in which Mrs. Clinton maintains a significant delegate lead.
The biggest stakes were on the Republican side, and the voters sensed it; turnout in Kansas, for example, was more than double that of 2012. Mr. Cruz won 48 percent of the vote there, while Mr. Trump received 23 percent, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida won 17 percent and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio won 11 percent. The results were tighter in Maine, but Mr. Cruz still easily defeated Mr. Trump there by 13 percentage points. With Mr. Trump’s victories coming by smaller margins, Mr. Cruz had the biggest delegate haul of the day, appearing to net at least 15 more than the front-runner.
