Posted on 04/06/2016 10:15:33 AM PDT by Steelfish
ANALYSIS: Donald Trump Grows Weaker, Setting Up Further Republican Chaos
By Rick Klein Apr 5, 2016
Wisconsin will go down as the state that turned the tide –- or that turns the minds of anxious Republicans to what might have been.
Donald Trump’s loss proves a point the anti-Trump forces have been making with varying intensity for months. He was blown out, losing broadly and decisively in a big battleground state, in a winnowed field and in a primary that was open to independents as well as GOP regulars.
“Tonight is a turning point. It is a rallying cry,” Ted Cruz said in declaring victory, in words that his erstwhile enemies in the Republican establishment would gladly endorse at this point in the race.
Trump’s support is stalling among Republican voters, and his failure to close out his rivals speaks to his potential weakness in a general election. Tuesday’s results show the GOP frontrunner can be beaten soundly in places where the case against Trump is prosecuted in a sustained way -– and perhaps helped along when Trump himself plays into those arguments with his own behavior.
With a Trump ceiling coming in to focus, his path to a majority of convention delegates has never been narrower. Strikingly, more than a third of Republicans in Wisconsin exit polls say they’d be scared under a Trump presidency, with another two in 10 saying they’d be concerned. Trump was uncharacteristically silent Tuesday night, as if he had nothing good to say. Cruz is by far the biggest beneficiary of the anti-Trump sentiments. Wisconsin delivered the kind of cross-demographic victory that, to date, only Trump has managed in an electorally significant state.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Kraut said Trump would show strength with a solid base of support if his vote total ended “in the high 30s.” The vote came in at 35%, so a little under where Kraut was thinking it would be when he said that. It was a backhanded compliment of sorts. Kraut was saying Trump had such a bad last 2 weeks, that he would have expected any normal politician to drop much lower than the high 30s.
The key for me is this exact same vote % gave Trump a “win” in Michigan, but here it’s a historic loss. It doesn’t seem the voter perception of Trump changed that much. The same people opposed him in Michigan, but this time Rubio wasn’t taking votes from Cruz and Kasich’s support switched to Cruz. Trump didn’t change, his diverse opposition just figured out for once that a successful strategy is consolidating votes on Cruz.
Yes, they will turn to Kasich with the intention of getting him the nomination in the convention.
They would rather see Hillary win and keep their power.
What States did Cruz win on Super Tues.?
Sounds like WI is a real wimp State, afraid of real leadership.
He is going against trained debaters whose only goal was to stop him, along with the commentators.
Only by Rubio, and he swings both ways.
Yeah.
Kasich got less than the poll numbers and Cruz more. It seemed to be directly correlated.
In NY, with Cruz and Kasich, Trump may run the congressional districts with only pluralities in many.
She can't even beat an old socialist!
Hillary's negatives are almost as high as Trump's are, but no one ever comments on that!
Exactly!
Everyone rails against the PC censorship but when a guy does speak honestly he is attacked for it.
Cruz is about stealing delegates, not winning them.
No, the GOP needs to go if it rejects Trump, it is a useless Party that won’t even stand up to Obama.
Voters are so 2012. They’re beyond that now.
No, I meant exactly what I wrote, and you don’t need to be a jackass to be politically incorrect.
Were in trouble no matter what. Trump nor Cruz can beat Hillary. Too many women voters they’ll never get. If the Republicans nominate Ryan or Perry someone who can actually beat Hillary the base will throw a tantrum. It’s a no win.
Trump is the only one who actually says what needs to be said.
Do you think maybe Jeb and Graham are supporting Cruz over Trump because of Trump’s relentless insults and/or harassment of them? I’ll be happy for Cruz to take any support he can get if he doesn’t have to change his positions, which he hasn’t.
Explain that to me pls.
It is the STATES that determine how long their delegates are bound or not bound.
Playing by the rules it not cheating.
Trump has no ground game and is laying off campaign staff.
Will not Trump be trying to steal Cruz delegates if no winner on the 1st Convention ballot?
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