US primaries: UPDATED Trump, Cruz share wins in Arizona, Utah
Bernie Sanders wins Idaho and Utah in Democratic voting.
In a day of shared honours, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz won the two Republican primaries in the US presidential primaries campaign, while Bernie Sanders won two states and Hillary Clinton one in the Democratic race.
Mr Cruz was always favoured in Utah where socially conservative Mormon voters are strongly opposed to Mr Trump, who easily won Arizona.
Mr Cruz gained an extra fillip to his campaign when one-time leading candidate Jeb Bush endorsed the Texan senator for president. The losing Republican candidate in the 2012 election, Mitt Romney, has also endorsed Mr Cruz.
Mrs Clinton, who was expected to win all three Democratic primaries in Arizona, Idaho and Utah, lost to Mr Sanders in Idaho and Utah.
For Republicans, these are the last major contests until Wisconsin’s April 5 primary. Mr Cruz is well behind Mr Trump in delegates but is hoping to gain enough for a contested convention, where delegates are free to vote for any candidate if none gets a clear majority. The minimum number for a majority is 1237.
Final results:
Arizona
Mr Trump (47%) cruised to an easy win over Mr Cruz (25%) in a border state where an older demographic and immigration issues are top of mind. In a winner-take-all delegate vote, Mr Trump added 58 to his tally, which is now at 739.
Mrs Clinton ( 58%) won comfortably despite strong campaigning by Mr Sanders (40%), adding 59 delegates and bringing her total to 1689.
Idaho
Mr Sanders (78%) scored one of his biggest wins over Mrs Clinton (21%) in this rural western state.
Utah
Mr Cruz (69%) handed Mr Trump his largest defeat so far. The third candidate, John Kasich, was second with 17%. Because he got more than 50%, Mr Cruz gained all 40 delegates, bringing his total to 465.
Mr Sanders (80%) streaked ahead of Mrs Clinton (20%), adding 74 delegates (including Idaho). His total is now 944.
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Nevil Gibson
Thu, 24 Mar 2016
Thu, 24 Mar 2016
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US primaries: UPDATED Trump, Cruz share wins in Arizona, Utah
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