GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump notched his third consecutive win in Nevada Tuesday, and the campaigns of two of his rivals quickly started launching attacks at Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who was on track to finish more than 20 points behind Mr. Trump.
“Contrary to what his campaign is trying to portray, Senator Rubio just endured another disappointing performance despite being the highest spending candidate in Nevada,” John Weaver, a strategist for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, wrote in a memo. “He also missed an opportunity to back up the notion that he can bring new people into the Republican Party or succeed above expectations in a diverse state.”
Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign also put out a release saying Mr. Rubio failed to beat Mr. Trump “despite the hype,” and that Mr. Rubio started working early and put a significant amount of resources to make Nevada into “the one early state he could win.”
With 100 percent of the precincts reported in Nevada early Wednesday, Mr. Trump won 45.9 percent of the vote, with Mr. Rubio at 23.8 percent and Mr. Cruz at 21.3 percent. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was at 4.8 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich trailing at 3.6 percent.
The candidates are all looking to present themselves as the person who can take down Mr. Trump one-on-one, but their attacks have been focused elsewhere much of the time; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had frequently touted himself as the only candidate who made a concerted effort to take on Mr. Trump directly.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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