Three months after he won the Iowa caucus and vowed to defeat front-runner Donald Trump, Republican Senator Ted Cruz has dropped out of the race for president.
Trump clobbered Cruz in the key state of Indiana Tuesday night and Cruz decided it was over.
The National Republican Party declared Trump was going to be their candidate.
Cruz was supposed to hold a rally Wednesday in Lincoln, now that’s cancelled.
“It's pretty much over now--Trump will be the Republican nominee,” said UNO political scientist Paul Landow.
Landow said Nebraska’s role in selecting the Republican candidate will now be diminished as Trump pushes forward.
“Nebraska probably really won’t mean much other than moving him a little closer to the goal which he pretty much already reached,” said Landow.
There’s many Republicans in the “never Trump” camp including Nebraska’s own Senator Ben Sasse.
He tweeted out:
“Overwhelming majority of Americans think both the D and R frontrunners are dishonest. The people are right. It matters. #WeCanDoBetter”
Landow said those Republicans’ efforts fell flat.
“Now it appears that they can't get the job done that Trump will have enough delegates before the convention to put him over the top or be so close that he can’t be denied anyway,” said Landow.
Even with the harsh divide between the so-called Republican establishment and the Trump supporters, Landow thinks the party will unify.
“When push comes to shove I don't see those republicans voting for Hillary Clinton so I would say the likelihood of the Republican party coming together is pretty good,” said Landow.
Governor John Kasich is still in the race.
The Republican primary is slated for May 10.
