Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders have clinched stunning victories against their respective party presidential front runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in key Wisconsin primary, setting the stage for an intense fight as the 2016 race for the White House reaches a critical juncture.
With one-fifth of the votes being counted, Tea Party favourite Cruz had taken an insurmountable lead of more than 70,000 votes with an over 20 per cent lead over Trump.
Mainstream were quick to project Trump as a winner of the Wisconsin primary, where 42 delegate were at stake.
On the Democratic front, Sanders had taken a lead of some 20,000 votes with one-fifths of the votes being counted.
Clinton was trailing behind by more than seven percentage points.
The former Secretary of State who has a lead of nearly 500 delegates, it’s a still a comparatively easy pathway to nomination as compared to Trump, who has a lead of a little over 200 delegates.
“Tonight is the turning point,” a confident Cruz said on Wednesday at his victory rally asserting that it has turned the tide against Trump and brought an end to the series of victories of the real estate.
“My campaign is going to earn the 1,237 delegates needed, either before Cleveland or at the convention in Cleveland. Together we will beat Hillary Clinton on November,” Cruz said.
“Tonight was a bad night for Trump,” Cruz said.
Trump has 737 delegates in his kitty as compared to 505 of Cruz.
After last night’s Wisconsin primary results, it would be a bit difficult for Trump to reach the magical figure of 1,237 delegates.
However, Trump campaign exuded confidence that with the primary season entering States like New York favourable for him, he was on his way to get the 1,237 delegates.
But Cruz hoped to get the necessary momentum for the rest part of the primary season.
Similarly, Sanders asserted that with having five of the last six primaries, the momentum is on his side.
“Moments ago the news networks called another state for our political revolution, and it’s a big one: Wisconsin,” he said.
“Tonight kicked off the most important three week stretch of the campaign, and we did it with another overwhelming victory. If we can keep our momentum going through the states that vote and caucus over the next three weeks, we’re going to win this election,” Sanders said.
