Trump battles rivals in 4 states; Clinton, Sanders compete

[rooster59]

Trump battles rivals in 4 states; Clinton, Sanders compete

WICHITA, Kansas (AP) — Eager to lock up the Republican nomination without a convention fight, Donald Trump battled Saturday to pad his lead as four more states delivered verdicts on the fractious Republican race for president. Democrats in three states were choosing between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich were competing Saturday in Maine, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana. Democrats had contests in Nebraska, Kansas and Louisiana.

Saturday's contests come just days after the party's panicked establishment intensified efforts to blunt the brash billionaire's momentum toward claiming the nomination, fearing that Trump could drag down Republican congressional and gubernatorial candidates. On Thursday, the party's most recent presidential nominees, Mitt Romney and John McCain, called Trump unfit for office and a danger to the nation. Hours later Trump came under concerted attack from Rubio and Crus in a raucous presidential debate.

The races on Saturday were largely overshadowed by the Super Tuesday contests in the rear-view mirror and critical contests soon to come. Last Tuesday, Trump rolled up seven wins to three for Cruz, including his home state of Texas, and one for Rubio.

With the Republican race in chaos, establishment figures were frantically looking for ways to deny Trump the nomination, perhaps at a contested convention if none of the candidates can roll up the 1,237 delegates needed to snag the nomination on the first ballot. Going into Saturday's voting, Trump led the field with 329 delegates. Cruz had 231, Rubio 110 and Kasich 25.

With front-runner Trump yet to win states by the margins he'll need in order to secure the nomination before the convention, every one of the 155 Republican delegates at stake on Saturday was worth fighting for.

In early returns, Cruz led in the Kansas and Maine caucuses. The Texas senator, who won the leadoff Iowa caucuses, is believed to have an edge in caucus states because he has put an emphasis on organizing a strong ground game to get his voters to the caucus sites. Trump was expected to do well in Louisiana which was holding a primary election.

On the Democratic side, Clinton is farther along than Trump on the march to her party's nomination. She has 1,066 delegates to Sanders' 432, including pledged superdelegates, party officials who are can cast votes for the candidate of their choice at the convention regardless of the primary results in their states. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination. There are 109 at stake on Saturday.

Clinton hoped that strong support among African Americans in Louisiana would propel her to victory. Sanders, the Vermont senator, had higher hopes of making progress in Nebraska and Kansas, where the Democratic electorate is less diverse.

Trump skipped a promised appearance at a convention of conservatives in the Washington area to get in one last morning rally in Kansas and then headed to Orlando, Florida.

"Everyone's trying to figure out how to stop Trump," the billionaire marveled at an afternoon rally that was interrupted frequently by protesters.

"It's sort of exciting, isn't it?" Trump said of the demonstrators.

Earlier, he'd warned in Wichita: "The Republicans are eating their own. They've got to be very careful. "We have to bring things together."

It was anger that propelled many of Trump's voters to the polls.

"It's my opportunity to revolt," said Betty Nixon, a 60-year-old Trump voter in Olathe, Kansas. She said she liked the businessman because "he's not bought and paid for."

In Louisiana's primary, 74-year-old Stan Register in Baton Rouge voted for Ted Cruz — "a real conservative."

"I don't feel comfortable with Trump," Register said. "Trump has not actually told what he plans on doing" as president.

Rubio and Kasich were not expected to do well in Saturday's races, but both had higher hopes for winner-take-all contests on March 15 in their home states.

Rubio, for his part, has had no qualms about denouncing Trump as a fraud and a "con artist."

"It's not enough to say, 'Vote for me because I am angrier and over the top and am going to do and say things no one is going to do,'" he told conservatives at the conference outside Washington, D.C., that Trump had skipped.

Rubio, going all-out for victory in Florida on March 15, planned to campaign in Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.

Cruz's schedule had him in Kansas and Idaho, which votes Tuesday.

Kasich, looking for political survival with victories in the Midwest, said Ohio would be "the crown jewel" for him.

Ahead of a debate Sunday night in Flint, Michigan, Clinton met with about 20 African-American ministers in Detroit on Saturday and said "the future" of the Supreme Court was on the ballot in November's general election. The Michigan primate is on Tuesday.

Sanders had events in Ohio on Saturday as the Democrats kept close watch on those two big states and their upcoming delegate hauls.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-03-06

[Thaidream]

The next American Revolution has begun. The reason people are voting for Trump is they are so fed up with the political situation in America. they would vote for anyone that can convince that things will change. However, Trump is not that person. He is one of the reasons things in America are a mess. He is of the wealthy and for the wealthy. He will never back the middle class or the poor and has no real feeling of empathy towards them. The only real change would come if the population backed Bernie Sanders and he became President. The wealthy, banks, big Pharma and the rest of the 1% are not afraid of Trump. He is one of them. They are scared to death of Sanders because he will end their reign of terror.

[hdkane]

I certainly think that the USA is ready for a woman president...but I hate the notion of it being Clinton...she's an inveterate politician with no moral compass...and I very much wish the USA would avoid the notion of "royalty" in politics...her name alone should not entitle her to the post...surely there are other women who are capable and have a sense of integrity...too bad Sanders has donned the mantel of socialist...the title scares people, but I think he possesses the most integrity of all candidates, Republican or Democrat...on reddit, there are old photos of him being arrested protesting segregation, back in the early 60s, and if you view his old speeches, the themes are stubborn and constant (too few ruling over the too many)...his concerns inequality are much more germane now than they were in the past decades...Clinton, on the other hand, adopts whatever stance will gain her power, and she earns 250,000 an hour (yes....that much) giving speeches to banks and financial institutions (while claiming she will be hard on Wall Street)...she also charges universities similar rates (while stating that students pay too much tuition)...conversely, Sanders often speaks for free to educational institutions...

at the very least, the whole mess is entertaining.