Indiana open primary results: Sanders and Trump win, Cruz drops out

Senator Bernie Sanders’ upset victory in Indiana may have nicked former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations, but Senator Ted Cruz’s big loss against billionaire businessman Donald Trump led him to drop out of the race entirely.

With 73 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders has been declared the winner, leading Clinton 53.2 to 46.8 percent, according to Associated Press.

With 5 percent of precincts reporting, Trump was declared the winner with 54.2 percent, compared to Cruz with 32.8 percent and Kasich with 10 percent, according to AP.

"Thank you to each of you, incredible patriots who have fought so hard to save this nation," Cruz told supporters in Indianapolis Tuesday night. "What you have done, the movement that you have started, is extraordinary. I love each and every one of you. From the beginning I've said I would carry on as long as there was a viable path to victory. Tonight I'm sorry to say that path is closed."

So far, there is no word on whether Kasich will drop out of the race.

Trump tweeted minutes after he was declared the winner, "Wow, Lyin' Ted Cruz really went wacko today. Made all sorts of crazy charges. Can't function under pressure - not very presidential. Sad!"

"We had a tremendous victory tonight. It was a tremendous victory," Trump told supporters at Trump Towers in New York City.

"We are going after Hillary Clinton," Trump added. "She will not be a great president. She will not be a good president. She will be a poor president."

"A lot has happened in the last year. As of today, we have now won 17 primaries and caucuses. We have received some 9 million votes. When we started this campaign we were 60 points behind," Sanders told supporters Tuesday night in Louisville, Kentucky, where a Democratic primary will be held on May 17.

Indianians are, by most accounts, excited to be voting Tuesday, as their state usually does not bring as much impact to presidential races as it is this year. With each county selecting their own voting system, the day has gone relatively smoothly compared to prior state contests.

Where things are not running as smoothly is in the Cruz campaign, where many on the inside are anticipating a loss, possibly by a landslide.

“Donald Trump may walk out of Indiana with as many as three-quarters of the delegates up for grabs,” Fox News reporter John Roberts relayed from one Cruz campaign source.

Trump piled on Cruz as people were heading to the polls.

“Over the last week, I have watched Lyin’ Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pressure and stress of losing, in all cases by landslides, the last six primary elections – in fact, coming in last place in all but one of them. Today’s ridiculous outburst only proves what I have been saying for a long time, that Ted Cruz does not have the temperament to be President of the United States,” Trump wrote in a campaign statement on Tuesday.

Not long ago, Indiana was considered a safe state for Cruz, but the campaign misjudged the voters and their priorities. Cruz played up the North Carolina bathroom issue, leaving Trump the opportunity to candidly say his own Trump Towers bathrooms are all-inclusive. Caitlyn Jenner, who has praised Cruz in the past, actually visited one of Trump’s facilities and said in a video message, “By the way, Ted, nobody got molested.”

Over $6 million was spent in Indiana on Pro-Cruz and Anti-Trump advertisements in Indiana, according to SMG Delta. Just $963,000 was spent on Pro-Trump ads, compared to $1.5 million for Pro-Sanders ads, $2.8 million for Anti-Trump ads and $3.3 million for pro-Cruz ads. 

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, the Clinton campaign has downplayed expectations of a victory in Indiana in what could be a campaign tactic on the side of Clinton to urge even more supporters to the polls. Sanders is still widely predicted to lose by a small margin.

An upset victory for Sanders would certainly boost his latest strategy to win over superdelegates, who have thus far nearly uniformly lined up behind Clinton. Sanders is betting on a contested convention for the nomination in July.

“It is virtually impossible for Secretary Clinton to reach the majority of convention delegates by June 14 – that is the last day that a primary will be held – with pledged delegates alone,” Sanders said at the National Press Club on Sunday.