Voters in the Republican Primary went to the polls last Tuesday, March 22nd, in the states of Arizona and Utah with signs of continued the momentum for the “outsider or non-establishment” candidates including businessman Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. They each split the contests, with Donald Trump winning Arizona and Ted Cruz winning Utah and Idaho (which was held on Tuesday March 8th.)
“Much bigger win than anticipated in Arizona, thank you, I will never forget” a victorious Donald Trump tweeted after the state of Arizona was called by the AP. Mr. Trump received all of the state’s 58 delegates which was important in Tuesday’s contests because Arizona is a “winner take all state” meaning that whichever candidate gets the most votes, even a bare plurality, wins them all.
Mr. Trump was able to capitalize on what has become his main issue, immigration, as the state struggles to handle the thousands of migrants coming from the south. “Trump wants the wall and won’t lie to us like Ted Cruz” Patrick Uzcategui, a 21 year old Arizona Trump supporter said explaining his support for Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump won Arizona with 47.1% (249,916) of the vote, Senator Cruz coming in second with 24.9% (132,147) and Ohio governor John Kasich coming in third with 10.0% (53,040).
“We need an outsider who will get things done” 38 year old Arizona Republican and Trump supporter said explaining why he supported Mr. Trump echoing the main reason of the support for Mr. Trump by many of his supporters. Mr. Trump is a businessman from New York whose only political experience came in 2000 when he ran for president as a third party candidate from the Reform Party.
Trump’s momentum stalled on Tuesday night with a victory by Mr. Cruz in Utah. With Mr. Cruz getting over 50% of the vote, he also got all of the states 40 delegates available. Even though Cruz is a longtime member of the Republican Party, he has managed to have not one single member from the Senate (including in his own party) support him.
In the Republican Utah contest which was held as a caucus (as opposed to Arizona’s Primary), Senator Cruz was able to capitalize on the conservative nature of the state along with the backing of former Governor Mitt Romney, who has taken a critical stance against Mr. Trump.
“I don’t like Trump’s temper or demeanor. For me personally, it scares me that the riots are already happening,” Salt Lake resident and Cruz supporter, Kortney Wall said explaining her support. “And seeing that on a world is not something I want. Anything is better than Trump or Clinton, not that I think Cruz has a chance against Clinton but I’m doing what I can” Ms. Wall continued, referring to numerous incidents where anti- Trump people inside the party feel that he has embarrassed himself and the party on the national stage.
Other influential citizens who have come out against Mr. Trump include current Utah Governor Gary Herbert who has harshly criticized Mr. Trump’s rhetoric against banning certain groups from entering the United States. “I am the Governor of a state that was settled by religious exiles who withstood persecution including an extermination order from another state’s governor. In Utah, the First Amendment still matters. That will not change so long as I am Governor”, Mr. Herbert posted in a Facebook post.
That distrust of Mr. Trump played itself out in on election night when Ted Cruz came in first with 69.2% of the vote (122,567 votes), Ohio Governor John Kasich coming in second with 16.8% ( 29,773 votes) and Mr. Trump coming in third with only 14.0% ( 24,864 votes).
“He’s like Utah Senator Mike Lee” Salt Lake City resident Dorothy Carter said in her support for Ted Cruz. “He tells you what he’s going to do and does it, unlike a lot of politicians that get to D.C and are bought by special interests”, Ms. Carter continued in her statement.
Mr. Trump has 736 delegates with Mr. Cruz coming in second with 463 and Governor Kasich with 143. 1,237 delegates are needed for the nominee to win the nomination.
In the end, it is a healthy sign that voters in the Republican Party are paying attention to what is happening in their party and seeing how the Republicans in Washington have not kept to their promises, ultimately causing the voters to want people who have no connection to the establishment in D.C as their nominee for 2016.
Links to sources:
- Salt Lake City Tribune Article: https://www.sltrib.com/home/3694745-155/cruz-appears-to-cruise-in-utah
- The Atlantic Article: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/donald-trump-gop-mormon-vote-utah/474819/
- USA Today Election Article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/22/donald-trump-ted-cruz-john-kasich-arizona-utah/82123356/
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