Ted Cruz is projected to win the Lone Star state Tuesday in a major upset that could keep his candidacy afloat and undermine Trump’s narrative that he is unstoppable. MSNBC and Fox News called Texas for Cruz.
His home state of Texas was seen by many in the GOP as Cruz’s best chance to wage a comeback against Trump who had bested him in all of the early states since Iowa. Cruz also won Oklahoma Tuesday.
The polls appeared to tighten in the days leading into the contest. The TPM PollTracker Average showed Cruz leading Trump just slightly, 31.5 percent to 30.1 percent.
Cruz’s win in the state could also put pressure on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to get out of the race as he has yet to win a single early contest.
Not only Texas, but the entire South was supposed to be Cruz’s firewall to stop Trump. It is unclear if Cruz will pull out any other victories in the South Tuesday. He lost Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee early in the evening. The large number of white evangelicals were supposed to overwhelmingly support Cruz, but Trump did surprisingly well among evangelical voters in the South Carolina primary, foreshadowing a vulnerability in Cruz’s Southern-focused strategy.
Cruz has been aggressively focused on Texas since he finished third in the Nevada caucus. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorsed Cruz as well as current Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
