Donald Trump is projected to win the Illinois GOP primary, multiple news outlets say.
Earlier in the night, Mr. Trump dominated Florida’s GOP primary Tuesday, knocking Sen. Marco Rubio out of the race — but Gov. John Kasich was the projected winner in Ohio, splitting the two top prizes on the board and making a contested convention ever more likely.
Mr. Trump was leading in early returns from Missouri, North Carolina and Illinois, as well, though he wasn’t posting the kinds of overwhelming wins needed to quell the talk of a convention.
And the loss in Ohio delivers all 66 of the state’s delegates to Mr. Kasich, giving the state’s governor his first win and makes him more relevant in the campaign conversation, where he’s now left on the stage with just Mr. Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz.
“It’s a real election for somebody that knows how to fix the country, the economy, that’s what this is about,” Mr. Kasich told CNN just after the race was called. He said he was staying in the race all the way to the convention.
In Florida, Mr. Trump had claimed victory even before the final Florida polls closed, posting a Twitter message saying he’d survived a massive anti-Trump ad blitz.
Republicans appeared on track to shatter the record for primary turnout in Florida from either party, as the intensity of the race — and Mr. Trump’s ability to attract new voters to the GOP discussion — played out across the state.
- Seth McLaughlin reported from Berea, Ohio. Kelly Riddell reported from Palm Beach, Florida.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
• Kelly Riddell can be reached at kriddell@washingtontimes.com.
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