MARCH 6, 2016
Photo: Getty
This year’s primary and caucus calendar waits for nothing, not even a weekend, as voters went to the polls in five states on Saturday. Both Democrats and Republicans faced a primary in Louisiana and a caucus in Kansas. In addition, Democrats only held a caucus in Nebraska, while Republicans also held caucuses in Maine and Kentucky.
The results were split up among each party’s top 2 leaders as evenly as they possibly could. Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders each won two contests, while Hillary Clinton was victorious in one. Marco Rubio had yet another disappointing night, finishing 3rd in three states and 4th in one.
The delegate count after Saturday’s contests didn’t change much, but the results did illustrate where momentum has shifted in the past week. Sanders shows that there’s life in him yet, and Cruz, rather than Rubio, is increasingly becoming the candidate of choice to take on Trump.
Let’s run the numbers:
KANSAS
The Kansas caucuses provided those upstarts Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders two big victories and a bunch of delegates.
Republican Caucus
Ted Cruz 48% (24 delegates awarded)
Donald Trump 23% (9 delegates)
Marco Rubio 17% (6 delegates)
John Kasich 11% (1 delegate)
A big victory by Cruz, who is showing strength in the middle of the country.
Democratic Caucus
Bernie Sanders 68% (23 delegates awarded)
Hillary Clinton 32% (11 delegates)
Clinton had a hard time dealing with caucuses in 2008, and this strong showing displays the Sanders campaign’s organizational prowess.
LOUISIANA
The Louisiana primary gave Hillary a big win, while on the Republican side, Trump managed to hold off a surging Cruz.
Republican Primary
Donald Trump 41% (18 delegates awarded)
Ted Cruz 38% (18 delegates)
Marco Rubio 11% (5 delegates)
John Kasich 6% (0 delegates)
A closer-then-expected win for Trump, but at this point, a win is a win.
Democratic Primary
Hillary Clinton 71% (35 delegates awarded)
Bernie Sanders 23% (12 delegates)
As has been true in both of her Presidential runs, Clinton does far better in primaries than in caucuses.
KENTUCKY
The Kentucky caucus was another close one between Trump and Cruz.
Republican Caucus
Donald Trump 36% (17 delegates awarded)
Ted Cruz 32% (15 delegates)
Marco Rubio 16% (7 delegates)
John Kasich 14% (7 delegates)
Another an almost-even delegate split between the two front-runners kept Trump from significantly expanding his delegate lead.
NEBRASKA
The Nebraska caucus result was another testament to the Sanders organization power.
Democratic Caucus
Bernie Sanders 56.5% (14 delegates awarded)
Hillary Clinton 43.5% (10 delegates)
A caucus win for Sanders, but not gaining many more delegates than Clinton.
MAINE
This was a shocking result. Polling indicated that this would be a close win for Trump, but Cruz unexpectedly steamrolled him here.
Republican Caucus
Ted Cruz 46% (12 delegates awarded)
Donald Trump 33% (9 delegates)
John Kasich 12% (2 delegates)
Marco Rubio 8% (0 delegates)
Nowhere in New England has Cruz even reached the high teens in percentage of the vote, so 46% was totally out of the blue. Note here too that Rubio dropped to fourth place in Maine, which is a blow to the great establishment alternative to Trump.
So where does leave us? Now that the dust has cleared on Saturday’s battles:
REPUBLICANS (1,237 needed to win)
Donald Trump 382
Ted Cruz 300
Marco Rubio 128
John Kasich 35
DEMOCRATS (2,383 needed to win)
Hillary Clinton 651 (plus 458 superdelegates) = 1,121
Bernie Sanders 456 (plus 22 superdelegates) = 481
Our next stops? Tonight, the Democrats meet for their 7th debate, this time in Flint, MI and hosted by CNN. Then on Tuesday, it’s the big Michigan primary for both parties as well as a Mississippi primary for the Dems. Be there or be square!
