Whew! Donald trump took a giant step forward... and, without saying "may I", in his drive to the Republican nomination for the presidency. Yesterday's elections in 5 states produced a clean sweep - and by very wide margins - for this upstart billionaire from New York. He swept all 5 primaries with big double-digit wins in each state. Even more impressive, Trump carried the majority of Republican primary votes cast ranging from 54% to 64%. Kasich ran second to Trump in 4 of 5 states with the sole exception being Pennsylvania where ted Cruz scored second place. However, even if the "Never Trump" votes were added together, Trump still thrashed both opposing candidates.
Candidate Trump scored big in delegates as well. Of the 119 pledged delegates in those 5 states, Trump's crushing victory carried with it 109 delegates while Cruz and Kasich scored 5 delegates each. Even more impressive, the long-discussed 54 "un-bound" Pennsylvania delegates have indicated to various media outlets that 39 either support Trump or will vote for Trump on the first ballot, reflecting their congressional district preferences as expressed in the votes cast. Just 2 delegates are for Cruz, none expressed support for Kasich, 7 others remain uncommitted, and the remaining 6 made no comment. Adding those 39 un-bound PA delegates to Trump's 109 count brings his total for yesterday to 148 with just 12 either committed or expressing a preference for others. By any measure, that is a delegate landslide of biblical proportions! Counting the 39 un-bound Pennsylvania delegates and those he won outright yesterday, that brings Trump's total delegate count to 993 with Cruz second at 564 and Kasich a distant third at 153. Of note is the fact that Trump also added a significant raw vote advantage to his totals - further muting the argument that someone other that the front-runner be selected as the party's nominee. Perhaps time has run out for his opponents and just maybe the "Never Trump" movement is, to quote Edgar Allen Poe, "Nevermore." Time will tell... but, from my perch, it really doesn't look good for the Trump opponents no matter how many Carlys re-appear in support of Cruz or Rubios appear to lend a hand as well.....
PS: Current poll data also shows that Trump is leading the race at the next "stop sign" selected by the anti-Trump forces - Indiana. The latest poll data has Trump 15 points in front of Cruz with Kasich a distant third. Trump is humming "New York, New York"... "if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere." The NY primary does seem to have been a major turning point in the march of the state primaries. Stay tuned......
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