In a historic night for American politics, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz announced he will suspend his presidential campaign Tuesday after business mogul Donald Trump all but secured the Republican nomination with a win in the Indiana primary.
In a speech shortly before 8 p.m. Central Standard Time, Cruz announced he would suspend his campaign, proclaiming that the route to securing 1,237 delegates was “not viable.”
"With a heavy heart and boundless optimism … we are suspending our campaign,” Cruz said at a campaign event in Indianapolis. “We gave it everything we got but voters chose a different path.”
At time of writing, Trump is cruising to a win in Indiana, leading Cruz 52 percent to 37 percent with 72 percent of precincts reporting. In his victory speech Tuesday night, Trump touted his victory in Indiana as a major comeback and praised Cruz as a "tough, smart guy."
"It looks like a massive victory, it looks like we will win all 57 delegates," Trump said in his remarks from New York City.
The Hoosier State was one that many thought would be demographically favorable for the Texas senator, but Trump came on strong following a dominant showing in the Northeast last week and many polls showed the tone of the race shifting after his wins in Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
A win in Indiana would secure at least 45 delegates for Trump’s corner, adding to the 1,053 he has won previously. Before dropping out, Cruz had 572 delegates and Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 156.
With former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pulling away from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race, the general election matchup seems all but set. While NBC News has projected Sanders will win the Indiana primary, Clinton has a significant lead in delegates and can mathematically clinch the nomination with a strong showing in California next month.
