Donald Trump was declared the winner of the Nevada caucuses Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press, gaining a third consecutive victory in an early-voting state and strengthening his position in the Republican presidential race before the wave of Super Tuesday primaries March 1.
Turnout in Nevada was reported to be high compared with previous caucuses. Trump was seen as a favorite going into the contest, but his victory still serves as a setback for his chief competitors, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, who must now try to break Trump's winning streak in the larger states that vote in the coming weeks.
For Trump, the outcome in Nevada is another sign of his campaign's durability and the breadth of his appeal: He has now handily won primary elections in New England and in the South, and a caucus fight in the far West. He won over independent voters in New Hampshire and evangelicals in South Carolina, and prevailed in Nevada, where Mormon voters and rural activists wield influence.
This latest triumph may only encourage Trump in the brash campaign style that has alienated many Republican officials and mainstream voters. In the two days leading up to the Nevada caucuses, Trump called Cruz a liar and threatened to deliver vicious attacks on Rubio as well. At a rally in Las Vegas on Monday evening, Trump ridiculed a protester in his audience and told supporters that he would have liked to "punch him in the face."
His supporters in Nevada were jubilant Tuesday night. Holding Trump signs and flags and a few beers, the crowd at the Treasure Island casino erupted into a minute-long cheer when Trump was projected as the winner on a CNN broadcast, and chanted the candidate's name. But the chants quickly turned to boos as soon as the network mentioned Cruz.
The results are likely to reinforce the sense among national Republican leaders that only direct confrontation can block Trump from claiming the party's nomination, because none of the party's most powerful voting blocs seems likely to thwart him on its own. Trump's success in Nevada is also likely to increase the pressure on his opponents to somehow join forces against a common enemy.
Cruz and Rubio have attacked each other angrily in recent days, as each has struggled to establish himself as Trump's strongest rival. Cruz has intensified his hawkish comments on immigration to compete with Trump and has argued that only a conservative running well to the right of Trump can challenge him effectively.
Rubio, on the other hand, has sought to unite Republican leaders behind his bid, casting himself as the only candidate capable of both defeating Trump and winning a difficult general election race. Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, appeared to open a wider path in the race for Rubio when he ended his campaign Saturday after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary.
A host of senators and members of Congress and a few governors have backed Rubio in recent days, bolstering his claim on support from the national party establishment. And Rubio has criticized Cruz in increasingly personal terms, calling him a dishonest politician who has routinely lied to voters.
But Rubio has still finished no better than second in any nominating contest, and that did not change in Nevada, where he had strong support from top Republican elected officials.
Two other candidates, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, competed in the Nevada caucuses, but they never appeared to be in a position to win. Their chief role might have been to siphon votes from Rubio and Cruz — Carson drawing votes from religious Republicans, and Kasich pulling support among more centrist voters.