Cruz, Sanders emerge victorious in Wisconsin primaries

[webfact]

Cruz, Sanders emerge victorious in Wisconsin primaries

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Republican Ted Cruz stormed to a commanding victory in Wisconsin Tuesday, denting front-runner Donald Trump's chances of capturing the Republican nomination before the party's convention. Democrat Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton, but still faces a mathematically difficult path to the White House.

Trump's defeat capped one of the worst periods of his campaign, a brutal stretch that highlighted his weaknesses with women and raised questions about his policy depth. While the billionaire businessman still leads the Republican field, Cruz and an array of anti-Trump forces hope Wisconsin signals the start of his decline.

"Tonight is a turning point," Cruz told cheering supporters at a victory rally. "It is a call from the hardworking people of Wisconsin to America. We have a choice. A real choice."

Cruz, an ultraconservative Texas senator with a complicated relationship with Republican leaders, also cast his victory as a moment for unity in a party that has been roiled by a contentious primary campaign.

But Trump was unbowed. His campaign put out a biting statement: "Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet--- he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump."

Sanders's sweeping win in virtually every county in Wisconsin, except Milwaukee, gives him greater incentive to keep competing against Clinton. But he still trails her in the pledged delegate count and has so far been unable to persuade superdelegates— the party officials who can back any candidate — to drop their allegiance to the former secretary of state and back his campaign.

At a raucous rally in Wyoming, Sanders cast his victory as a sign of mounting momentum for his campaign.

"With our victory tonight is Wisconsin, we have now won 7 out of 8 of the last caucuses and primaries," he declared. Sanders is favored to win the Wyoming Democratic caucuses on Saturday.

The results in Wisconsin make it likely both parties' primaries will continue deep into the spring, draping front-runners Trump and Clinton in uncertainty and preventing both from fully setting their sights on the general election.

With an overwhelming white electorate and liberal pockets of voters, Wisconsin was favorable territory for Sanders. In a sign of Clinton's low expectations in the Midwestern state, she spent Tuesday night at a fundraiser with top donors in New York City. The focus of the campaign now turns to New York which holds its critical primary on April 19.

Clinton congratulated Sanders on Twitter and thanked her supporters in Wisconsin. "To all the voters and volunteers who poured your hearts into this campaign: Forward!" she wrote.

Because Democrats award delegates proportionally, Sanders' victory in Wisconsin will not cut significantly into Clinton's lead in the pledged delegate count. With 86 delegates at stake in Wisconsin, Sanders will pick up at least 45 and Clinton will gain at least 31. The state-by-state nominating contests are choosing delegates to the parties' national conventions that will select the presidential nominees.

Sanders must still win 67 percent of the remaining delegates and uncommitted superdelegates in order to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

With most of Wisconsin's delegates allotted, Clinton now has 1,274 delegates to Sanders' 1,025, based on primary and caucus results alone. When including superdelegates, Clinton has a wider lead — 1,743 to 1,056. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.

Clinton's campaign has cast her overall lead as nearly insurmountable. But Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, has taken his dark-horse candidacy from a mere annoyance to Clinton to a serious challenge for the former secretary of state, who had largely been expected to take the Democrat nomination in a walk when the contest began last year.

While Trump has been the dominant force in the Republican race, he battled a series of campaign controversies in the lead-up to Wisconsin, including his campaign manager's legal problems following an altercation with a female reporter and his own awkward stumbles in clarifying his views on abortion. Wisconsin's Republican establishment, including Gov. Scott Walker, also campaigned aggressively against the businessman.

Exit polls in the state underscored the concerns about Trump that are surging through some corners of the Republican Party. A majority of Republican voters said they're either concerned or scared of a potential Trump presidency. More than a third said they were scared about what Trump would do as president, and about 2 in 10 said they were concerned, according to surveys conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.

With his victory Tuesday, Cruz won at least 33 Wisconsin delegates, while Trump carried at least three. Six delegates are still up for grabs, pending the outcome in two congressional districts.

With Wisconsin results included, Trump led with 740 delegates to Cruz's 514, while Kasich had 143. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the nomination.

Trump still has a narrow path to claim the nomination by the end of the primaries on June 7. But by losing Wisconsin, the real estate mogul has little room for error in upcoming contests.

Trump would need to win 57 percent of those remaining to clinch the Republican nomination before the July convention. So far, Trump has won 48 percent of the delegates awarded.

Complicating the primary landscape for both Cruz and Trump is the continuing candidacy of John Kasich. The Ohio governor's only victory has come in his home state, but he's still picking up delegates that could otherwise help Trump inch closer to the nomination or help Cruz catch up.
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Associated Press writers Steven R. Hurst, Julie Pace and Scott Bauer contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-04-06

[khwaibah]

And the beat goes on. Still losers on both sides.

[Pinot]

I smell a bloodbath convention coming up! A shame they can't bring their guns in.

It's a catastrophic scenario for the GOP. An irresolvable stalemate between two of the most toxic candidates in the history of the United States. Both of them pathetically unelectable.

Gosh dang it! The best election ever!

[Mosha]

If Panama papers dish any dirt on the the 3 rich ones, it will get interesting.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[Pinot]

A couple of interesting tidbits emerge from WI:

1) WI exit poll: 39% of Republicans would abandon GOP if Trump is the nominee; 35% would abandon GOP if it’s Cruz.

2) Per exit polls, there were so few Republican voters under 30, they statistically cannot break down candidate support.

[up2u2]

Awesome Bernie and the great folks of Wisconsin.

Vive La Révolution!!!!!!

Well done Bernie.

'Feel the Bern' - 'A Future to Believe In'

Edited April 6, 2016 by up2u2

[dunroaming]

Well no surprises with Donald losing here but it does raise some interesting questions. I think unfortunately Trump is not going to get the republican nomination which leaves them with Cruz. A third rate candidate at best with no chance of winning. Will Trump then run as an independent? That would split what is left of the republican vote and be the final nail in the coffin for them.

On the other hand you have another win for Sanders in the democrats race. Although it is highly unlikely that Sanders will get the nomination it would be a hoot to have a so called socialist as President of the USA.

Whichever way you look at it it's hard to be a republican in the USA at the moment. I said it last time and the time before, the republicans have to re-invent themselves and dump all the nutjobs. Time to join the 21st Century before it is too late!

[Boon Mee]

Knew I shouldn't change my avatar.

[up2u2]

Well no surprises with Donald losing here but it does raise some interesting questions. I think unfortunately Trump is not going to get the republican nomination which leaves them with Cruz. A third rate candidate at best with no chance of winning. Will Trump then run as an independent? That would split what is left of the republican vote and be the final nail in the coffin for them.

On the other hand you have another win for Sanders in the democrats race. Although it is highly unlikely that Sanders will get the nomination it would be a hoot to have a so called socialist as President of the USA.

Whichever way you look at it it's hard to be a republican in the USA at the moment. I said it last time and the time before, the republicans have to re-invent themselves and dump all the nutjobs. Time to join the 21st Century before it is too late!

If Trump runs as Independent then Republicans lose The House and the Senate in a Democrat clean sweep.

There is an evil minority of racists, religious zealots and xenophobic bigots in the Republican Party backed by the 1%'er wealthy elite and the greed of Corporate America that makes them toxic to the electorate. If they dumped all the nutjobs they would lose 25% of their supporters and never govern, ever.

Correction, Bernie is not a socialist so you would not have a socialist in the white house.

Wisconsin is a good win for Bernie and an even bigger win for the American People.

[sgtsabai]

Wisconsin is a big win, a very important win and gives him momentum headed into New York where the Clinton cabal has been in full force for years. If the black, hispanic, other minorities and the poor ever realize what the Clintons did to them Hillory will loose to Bernie. You can bet the lame stream media won't be uttering a single word of it. Go Bernie go, go away Hillary, go away.

[tuanku]

seems to me as a fairly disinterested outsider, that Clinton is a natural as the Republican nominee and Sanders would make an excellent Democratic candidate for the Presidency. Both Cruz and Trump seem totally unelectable as presidential candidates (although we have had two pieces of shrubbery and Ronald Reagan so who knows!). We had a man in the UK called Screaming Lord Sutch who stood in election after election for the Monster Raving Loony Party. Besides DT he would appear calm and rational in his beliefs.

So how about it? Clinton vs Sanders?

[Publicus]

Knew I shouldn't change my avatar.

Today's Reuters-Ipsos daily tracking poll has Cruz leading among Republicans nationally for the first time. I think Republicans nationally are beginning to get the message.

Cruz 39%

Trump 37%

It's a statistical tie unless one looks at it the other way to find the possible larger margin. Or it could be a Wisconsin inspired bump.

Trump Loses Lead in National Tracking Poll

http://polling.reuters.com/#poll/TR130/filters/LIKELY_PRIMARY15:1,PARTY_ID_:2/dates/20160101-20160405/type/day

(Why would you consider changing your avatar.)

[dunroaming]

up2u2

I did say "so called" socialist or in his words "a self proclaimed socialist". Personally I think he is the best of a very poor lot and in the UK socialist values are something that people are proud of. However I think it is a bit of a stretch to call himself a socialist.

[sgtsabai]

If Bernie is a socialist, actually a democratic socialist, there is a difference, then so was FDR. Bernie channels FDR and his agenda is nothing more than the "New Deal" the right wing, corporations, Republicans and plutocrats have worked so hard to destroy. Throw a little coup attempt against FDR in there by the rich.

[Jingthing]

Trump and Cruz.

We knew what a hot mess Trump is, but what about that super CREEPY far right EXTREMIST Cruz?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/04/05/what_people_find_creepy_according_to_one_new_survey.html

Edited April 6, 2016 by Jingthing

[lannarebirth]

Trump and Cruz.

We knew what a hot mess Trump is, but what about that super CREEPY far right EXTREMIST Cruz?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/04/05/what_people_find_creepy_according_to_one_new_survey.html

Last night was the first time I'd ever seen Cruz speak. He is indeed a creepy dude and his message was creepier still. Reminded me of a Vincent Price undertaker type of character, but without Vincent's charm or panache.

[ToS2014]

Wisconsin is a big win, a very important win and gives him momentum headed into New York where the Clinton cabal has been in full force for years. If the black, hispanic, other minorities and the poor ever realize what the Clintons did to them Hillory will loose to Bernie. You can bet the lame stream media won't be uttering a single word of it. Go Bernie go, go away Hillary, go away.

Seriously...."If the black, hispanic, other minorities and the poor ever realize what the Clintons did to them..." they are too drunk on the cool aid to EVER realize my friend. Much like most of the others that don't fit into your categories listed! Take a look at mandatory and discretionary spending over the years and it will give you a clue on how 'good' the cool aid tastes....

[keemapoot]

Trump and Cruz.

We knew what a hot mess Trump is, but what about that super CREEPY far right EXTREMIST Cruz?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/04/05/what_people_find_creepy_according_to_one_new_survey.html

Last night was the first time I'd ever seen Cruz speak. He is indeed a creepy dude and his message was creepier still. Reminded me of a Vincent Price undertaker type of character, but without Vincent's charm or panache.

Yeah, if Cruz turns out to be the nominee, as much of Washington is now predicting, to me he is just another garden variety un-charismatic evangelical-inspired right winger. For progressive thinkers, as I think the 3 of us on this sub-thread are, he will be fun to make fun of, but he does not represent an existential threat to the Republican party the way Trump does. But sadly for America, he does not represent anywhere near the best candidate the GOP could present.

[keemapoot]

The Wisconsin results showed that Trump's base is still loyal, just as we've seen on this forum

But the results showed that many supporters in Mr. Trump’s most steadfast constituency, non-college-educated whites, stuck by him. Exit polls show that Mr. Cruz won 48 percent of this group, but more than one-third of them still voted for Mr. Trump.

Kevin Williamson, a correspondent for National Review, which has endorsed Mr. Cruz, wrote last month that it is “immoral” and “a lie” to say “that the white working class that finds itself attracted to Trump has been victimized by outside forces. It hasn’t.” Mr. Williamson wrote that these voters have no one to blame for their distress but themselves, and certainly not the Republican establishment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/opinion/blaming-the-white-victim-class.html

This will remain a problem for Cruz, or whoever the nominee is after the (likely) brokered convention. How to keep appealing to this big group of white working class men who feel that life has dealt them a bad hand.

[pitrevie]

Awesome Bernie and the great folks of Wisconsin.

Vive La Révolution!!!!!!

Well done Bernie.

'Feel the Bern' - 'A Future to Believe In'

They already think that Obama is a Marxist Communist and a lot more ists besides, can you imagine how the right wing nut jobs are going to (have already) label Bernie?

[Boon Mee]

Go Ted!

[keemapoot]

Go Ted!

At least you're back to supporting a more rational candidate.

[Jingthing]

I think HRC can easily beat Trump OR Cruz.

Cruz a little easier because he's so predictable and so EXTREMIST.

Trump of course always a very, very WILD card.

Kasich would present a real challenge.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Jingthing

[tonypace02]

At this point it does not matter who the GOP nominee is. The party is so fragmented it would be lucky to keep control of both the House and Senate. Republican voters who do not cast a ballot will not be voting to keep all of their incumbents in office.

[Jingthing]

Kasich is their only hope. He could be their compromise choice after many ballots as Cruz and Trump are both so awful. Trumpets are going to be angry regardless but at least Kasich is actually in the race. It would be too risky to give it to a non runner namely Ryan.

[up2u2]

Bernie with control of the House and the Senate.

Bloomberg?

[keemapoot]

Bernie is now looking at a contested convention if Clinton doesn't clinch a delegate majority. Wow, shakeup Lady Voldemort's evil empire?

I guess still slim odds, but boy is this going to be fun if Bernie goes for it.

Edited April 7, 2016 by keemapoot

[lannarebirth]

Bernie is now looking at a contested convention if Clinton doesn't clinch a delegate majority. Wow, shakeup Lady Voldemort's evil empire?

I guess still slim odds, but boy is this going to be fun if Bernie goes for it.

You know, Bernie's the only one running with any record of accomplishment. He's the only one who can make legislation happen through compromise with the other side(hey, remember those days?).. I've seen you post, that though you don't care for her, HRC is at least competent. I just don't see that. Her judgement was horrendous as Sec of State and countless thousands are dead because of it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/barney-vs-bernie-sanders_b_9624560.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Edited April 7, 2016 by lannarebirth

[keemapoot]

Bernie is now looking at a contested convention if Clinton doesn't clinch a delegate majority. Wow, shakeup Lady Voldemort's evil empire?

I guess still slim odds, but boy is this going to be fun if Bernie goes for it.

You know, Bernie's the only one running with any record of accomplishment. He's the only one who can make legislation happen through compromise with the other side(hey, remember those days?).. I've seen you post, that though you don't care for her, HRC is at least competent. I just don't see that. Her judgement was horrendous as Sec of State and countless thousands are dead because of it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/barney-vs-bernie-sanders_b_9624560.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Sure, I do see your point. And, I don't want to cling to the idea that Clinton is terribly competent. I make the distinction between having the training and experience to do the job, and doing it with distinction, vision and love of country and people. I think Hilary probably fits into the former, though for sure, she is the queen of abuse of position, and a good argument can be made, which you make, that her judgment is errant as well and therefore, incompetent. Maybe subtle distinctions.

She, like many extremely bright people, like the game more than any noble purpose. Using the US treasury as your personal piggy bank, and the US government as your personal monopoly game sounds very attractive and fun, to me too.

She is a rat. Hopefully, Bernie will vanquish the rat.

Richard Nixon was terribly competent, and historians agree, one of the most effective Presidents in history. Unfortunately, he was also a rat. Tricky Dicky rat.

Edited April 8, 2016 by keemapoot