Donald Trump scored wins Tuesday in the West Virginia and Nebraska primaries, padding his lead in the Republican presidential race hours after a new poll showed him locked in a tight general election battle with Hillary Clinton.
Networks called the races for Mr. Trump as soon as polls closed in West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. and in Nebraska at 9 p.m.
The results were basically a foregone conclusion given that they marked the first nomination contests since Mr. Trump became the presumptive nominee by chasing Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich from the race last week, clearing the way for him to collect the rest of the 1,237 delegates he needs to capture the party’s presidential nomination on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention.
Mr. Trump had 1,071 delegates heading into Tuesday. There were 34 delegates up for grabs in West Virginia and 36 on the line in Nebraska.
Mr. Trump’s win came on the heels of a Quinnipiac University poll that showed him leading Mrs. Clinton, who lost the West Virginia primary, in a hypothetical general election matchup in Ohio by a 43-39 percent margin, and trailing the former secretary of state by a 43-42 percentage points in Pennsylvania and Florida.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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