WASHINGTON: Trump is aiming for a thumping victory Tuesday in Indiana to squelch lingering doubts about his viability as the Republican presidential nominee and pivot toward presumptive Democratic standard-bearer Hillary Clinton.
The “stop Trump” movement faces a moment of truth in the Midwestern state, as the campaign of chief challenger Ted Cruz struggles to win over voters ahead of its potentially decisive primary.
Polls open at 6:00 am (1000 GMT), and Trump urged voters in The Hoosier State to help him secure victory over Cruz.
“We have to put him away tomorrow folks,” Trump told a crowd in South Bend on the eve of the vote.
“The biggie is going to be in Indiana — because if we win Indiana it’s over with folks, it’s over with. And then we focus on Hillary Clinton.”
A new NBC poll showed Trump 15 percentage points ahead of Cruz, fresh evidence that the Texas senator’s bid to block Trump was under threat.
Cruz was counting on Indiana acting as a Trump firewall, blocking him from receiving the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the nomination at the Republican convention in Cleveland in July.
