***Horse Race LiveWire*** Nevada Votes: Trump Beats Rubio, Cruz Combined

Welcome to Breitbart News’s daily live updates of the 2016 horse race. 

Final Nevada results: Trump 46%, Rubio 24%, Cruz 21%. With Hispanic voters, Trump won 45%, Rubio 28%, Cruz 18%.

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8:44: New poll in Texas shows Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, level at 32 percent.

6:55: Trump Tweets:

6:45: The “smart set” wants an “anti-Trump Manhattan Project.” Here’s the problem, you can’t have an “anti-Trump Manhattan Project” when you don’t have Einsteins who understand the concerns of Trump’s voters/GOP base. Big-money donors probably realize that these anti-Trump consultants are frauds (question: will they run their anti-Trump campaigns while not pocketing any money for themselves?) and don’t want to give their millions to clueless members of the “smart set” known for their anti-Midas touch this election cycle:

6:35: In Texas, Rubio recalibrate some of his stump speech. He says he has the same message for “Americans of Hispanic descent” as he does for everyone else–to give people the same opportunities their parents had. He says “I know” the concerns Americans have about the economy, student loans, etc.

6:15: Trump blasts Romney:

6:05:  Interestingly, Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) said he had been a Jeb Bush supporter and decided to endorse Trump after Bush dropped out of the race.

5:55: Cruz in Texas:

5:50: Kasich in Louisiana

5:53: Hillary Running TV Ad in Flint (she reportedly filmed the ad while she was at Flint)

5:48: Rubio in Texas:

5:32: Greta wonders….

5:30: With Surrogates like this….

5:25: Coulter praises Breitbart EIC Marlow, rips the GOP/mainstream media “smart set”:

Alex Marlow, editor in chief of Breitbart News, explained everything that was about to happen in this race back on the Sept. 14 edition of CNN’s Erin Burnett show.

While all the other “strategists” gibbered about Trump losing the Hispanic vote, Marlow said: “Trump is growing the big tent. … Trump’s policies are appealing to blacks. There are even some polls out there, like a survey USA poll, saying Trump is actually doing fine with Latinos.”

In the Nevada primary on Tuesday, Trump not only won the Hispanic vote; he not only won 17 points more of the Hispanic vote than his next closest rival; but his Latino vote nearly matched that of the two Latino candidates combined.

In one of the few times you might have heard this point expressed on television airwaves, Marlow said that the No. 1 issue for Breitbart News’ 20 million readers, “has consistently been — since last year — immigration. They are looking for someone who is going to seal the border and prioritize border security as No. 1.”

Obviously, Marlow was right about everything. According to Nexis, that was the last time he appeared on TV.

It would be as if, after discovering America, Christopher Columbus reported back to the King and Queen of Spain, but the booker for Ferdinand and Isabella decided that, instead of Columbus, she’d get the guy who never actually set sail for the New World because he was afraid he’d fall off the edge of the Earth into a fiery pit.

Fantastic — that’s great. You’re going to be our go-to expert on the discovery of the New World. Can you be here early Sunday morning?

5:24: Rep. Clyburn predicts a “comfortable win” for Clinton in South Carolina in an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd.

5:15: Nolte:

5:10: NBC News:  Jeb! apologizes to donors. To be fair, his advisers, especially Mike Murphy, and team of GOP establishment mercenaries who care more about their standing in the political world than any candidate”advise:” should also apologize for wasting all of that money:

Jeb Bush told donors Wednesday afternoon that he had seen a path to victory “from the very beginning” of his campaign but was unexpectedly stymied by “outsiders making a compelling case to people who are deeply disaffected and angry.”

“I’m sorry that it didn’t turn out the way that I intended. When I launched the campaign in front of 3-4,000 people in Miami, I anticipated a different result,” an audibly disappointed Bush told donors on a national finance team call scheduled to thank them for their support.

5:02: Clinton says Hillary will stand her ground on Supreme Court nominees. He also accuses Republicans of making things up re: political speech equaling free speech (Clintons adopting some things from Sanders’s playbook).

4:57: Bill says Hillary is for immigration reform and we “need to keep the DREAMERs here” so “we can act like decent people.”

4:50: Bill Clinton says he went to buy a pair of jeans and a woman approached him to talk about her children in college/college loans. Conveniently, Clinton uses the story to tout Hillary’s proposals re: college loans to appeal to millennials.

4:39: Shortly after the undisciplined Clinton takes a shot at Obama–and his economy–to make himself feel good even though his wife has been diligently trying to tie herself to Obama and his legacy to court critical black voters, Bill Clinton then touts Northern Virginia’s booming economy. In an obvious reference to Trump, Bill Clinton says “America never stopped being great” and “we need to make America whole again.” He says Hillary doesn’t want to build walls and instead build bridges and tear down barriers.

4:33: Bill Clinton: Many Americans Can’t See Themselves in Picture of the Future that Obama Painted

Bill Clinton is stumping for his wife in Virginia. He can’t help himself. He takes another passive-egressive shot at Obama, saying so many people can’t see themselves in the picture of the future that Obama painted because they haven’t seen wage increases and the economy hasn’t improved. He says Hillary is running for president to put everybody in the picture.

RPV Chairman John Whitbeck’s statement on Clinton’s visit:

“Nothing Bill Clinton can say or do can remedy the fact that voters have serious concerns about Hillary Clinton, to put it mildly. A recent Christopher Newport University poll found that 59 percent of Virginia voters had an unfavorable opinion of her. Whether it’s her inexcusable lapses in protecting classified information, her open embrace of Obamacare, her hostility to the coal industry, or her disastrous record on foreign policy, there are plenty of reasons Democrats are Feeling the Bern across the Commonwealth. The fact that her campaign had to send her top surrogate into the state less than a week before Election Day speaks volumes about where she stands.”

4:32: “Four family members of Colorado mass-shooting victims announced Tuesday they are endorsing Hillary Clinton for president” on the day Clinton sent a fundraising email suggesting Sanders stands against the Sandy Hook victims:

This week, families from Sandy Hook are in court suing the manufacturer of the gun that killed their children, challenging the law that gives gun-makers legal immunity. I voted against that law. Senator Sanders voted for it.

4:22: Mitt Romney pulling a Harry Reid on Trump:

4:10: Poll: Trump Leading in Oklahoma:

With less than a week before election day, Donald Trump is widening his lead in Oklahoma’s Republican primary race, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The real estate mogul is holding an eight-point lead over Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, with 29 percent to Rubio’s 21 percent, according to the poll. That lead has widened from just 5 percent two weeks ago.

3:59: The Great John Hayward: No One ‘Made’ Donald Trump

The problem with all these “Who made Trump?” accusations from the circular firing-squad is that Trump’s primary victory margins are far too hefty to be explained by factional maneuvers.

He’s not winning by a tiny margin that could be portrayed as misguided dupes, and a healthy party doesn’t see its own voters as “dupes” anyway. Trump is winning because a lot of people are voting for him, including voters from demographics the other candidates were supposed to dominate, such as evangelicals in South Carolina and (if entry polls are to be believed) Hispanics in Nevada.

Trump’s margins are also far too large to be dismissed as whatever unpleasant fringe movement a particular commentator prefers to blame, from the “alt right” to mischievous left-wingers trying to set up an easy general-election win for Hillary. A lot of the anti-Trump commentary along these lines would be far more plausible if he was only winning by a point or two, but that just isn’t the case.

[…]

Donald Trump throws a lot of sharp elbows at his competitors, but he doesn’t attack his own prospective voters, the way the Republican establishment and too many anguished conservative opinion leaders do. He says he’s going to fight for them —not in some abstract procedural or aspirational sense, but in a blunt and practical way. He’ll carve them a piece of the pie, bully the crybullies, and slap some sense into the bureaucratic empire sprawled along the Potomac. His voters give him a pass on the details because they appreciate his intentions… which is the ground Democrats usually prefer to fight on.

It’s not the national conversation I wanted to have in 2016, but I’d rather try to understand the Republican electorate than insult them into submission, or threaten to stay home and saddle them with President Hillary because they dared to support Donald Trump.

Read it multiple times here.

3:56: Headline says it all: Marco Rubio Gets Party’s Blessing, but Not Voters’ (The GOP establishment consultants who only hear what is said in their echo are all-in for Rubio and pettily insist they will not vote for Trump. The problem is there are many more voters than professional Beltway consultants who lose general elections and don’t know how to defeat Trump because they have never understood–and never will–the voters drawn to Trump’s message/candidacy)

Senator Marco Rubio has persuaded wealthy donors, Republican Party elders and his colleagues in Congress that he represents their best chance to overtake the seemingly invincible force that is Donald J. Trump.

He just can’t seem to convince the voters.

3:33: Popular vote numbers:

3:3o: YouGov Poll: Trump 34, Pope Francis 32:

As you may know, Pope Francis recently criticized Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico as “not Christian.” Donald Trump called Pope Francis’ comments “disgraceful.” Who do you agree with more?

Pope Francis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32%
Donald Trump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34%
Neither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9%

Would you favor or oppose building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico?
Favor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49%
Oppose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18%

Poll conducted February 19-22. Margin of error = 4.1%.

3:20: Tony Lee: This shows how incompetent the mainstream media, pundits, and GOP establishment operatives are. The type of disaffected voter that Trump has attracted hates both political parties because they believe Republican and Democrats are playing for the same team. They think Trump is someone who is from outside of the political system and beholden to nobody. He is essentially the jackass who will fight for Americans that the media looks down up and the both political parties ignore in favor of whatever the big-monied interests that Trump is not beholden to want. These voters, once activated and all-in on a candidate, are not going to decided not to vote because of a “savagely negative campaign.” A “savagely negative” campaign turns off the No Labels/Goo-goos voters who, like the mainstream media, want politicians to hold hands and sing Kumbaya. The No Labels/Goo-Goos are the people with whom the majority of mainstream media members interact with in their social circles.

3:13: Kasich not dropping out:

3:10: Left mocking Rubio’s surrogates.

3:09: Trump now -225 to win the nomination:

3:08: CNN being CNN:

3:07: Alex Swoyer on Melania Trump’s interview:

3:05: Flashback:  Trump’s Rise Without Traditional Campaign Spending ‘Existential Threat’ to ‘Political Election Industry’ (That’s why the GOP consultants hate him)

Mr. Trump is undeniably a showman. Unlike virtually all of his competitors, who repeat the same stump speech in the hopes of getting a poll-tested message across, Mr. Trump always surprises. And when he does get on camera, Mr. Trump often filibusters, as when a planned introduction of Sarah Palin, who endorsed him on national television last month, stretched into a lengthy monologue. (Ms. Palin, no slouch in the earned-media department, then proceeded to “trump” Mr. Trump, with a 20-minute riff on “squirmishes” and “proud clingers.”)

Just how effective is it? Mr. Trump won the Nevada caucuses on Tuesday. Now, according to a tally published this week by NBC News, three of his Republican rivals — Mr. Kasich, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz — are spending a combined $1.5 million on television ads in the 11 states holding primaries or caucuses on March 1, known as Super Tuesday.

Mr. Trump’s bill?

Zero.

2:57: Thought experiment: Rubio allies and mainstream media writers who don’t want to concede that Trump won the Hispanic vote in Nevada are endlessly talking about the supposedly small sample of Latino voters. But if Rubio had received 51% of the Hispanic vote, would these same people be pointing to the “small sample size”–or would they be pushing the narrative that Trump can’t even win minorities in his own party? Bottom line: Trump won nearly half of the Latino vote on Tuesday.

2:57: Sanders in Missouri (not in the South or South Carolina):

2:53: Clinton also brings up voting rights and says this will be one of the most consequential elections in our lifetime. She accuses Republicans of wanting to turn back the clock to a time we want to just see in our rearview mirror.

2:50: Hillary addressing oldest black sorority in South Carolina, talking about “systemic racism”:

2:40: Kasich hyping a Washington Post analysis showing he can stop Trump from winning nomination before the convention:

2:30: Cruz holding rally in Texas:

2:25: Establishment Republicans now conceding Trump is the frontrunner:

2:20 pm – The Daily Beast is using the “I” word:

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On Super Tuesday alone, the only states that Trump currently risks losing, according to Real Clear Politics averages, are Arkansas and Texas. And both of those states have Cruz leading by surmountable percentages (note, though, that polling in both states is not always frequent or entirely current).

Even if Trump comes in second in Texas, he could still win.

2:10 pm – r/Cringe:

2:06 pm – Cruz arrives for his rally.

1:59 pm – CNN has posted the interview with Reid’s endorsement of Hillary:

1:50 pm – Kasich says he’s got the best chance outside of Trump to be the nominee:

1:38 pm – Alternet interviews Noam Chomsky on the 2016 field:

Williams: What are your opinions on the surprising progress of Donald Trump? Could it be explained by a climate of fear?

Chomsky: Fear, along with the breakdown of society during the neoliberal period. People feel isolated, helpless, victim of powerful forces that they do not understand and cannot influence. It’s interesting to compare the situation in the ‘30s, which I’m old enough to remember. Objectively, poverty and suffering were far greater. But even among poor working people and the unemployed, there was a sense of hope that is lacking now, in large part because of the growth of a militant labor movement and also the existence of political organizations outside the mainstream.

1:31 pm – Trump: Fox should fire Karl Rove.

1:26 pm – Ted Cruz rally at a Houston manufacturing company today:

1:09 pm – Van Jones, Glenn Beck making same argument against Trump.

1:08 pm – Harry Reid to endorse Hillary.

1:08 pm – Harsh.

1:07 pm – Poll shows Cruz with a two-digit lead in Texas.

12:58 pm – Mitt Romney puts his finger on the pulse! GOP voters are mad that the party isn’t addressing “climate change, poverty, education, and income inequality.”

“We’re just mad as hell and won’t take it anymore,” Romney said of the national electorate in an appearance at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., where he harshly criticized “the failure of current political leaders to actually tackle major challenges, or to try at least, or to go out with proposals.”

“Think for a moment about the major challenges you believe this country faces and tick them off in your mind and ask, ‘Are we making any real progress on any of them?’ Romney said, striking an exasperated tone as he turned to the crowd.

12:46 pm – Consider me intrigued by this analogy.

12:42 pm – Here it comes.

12:38 pm – Internet drama is dramatic.

12:33 pm – Ouch: “Rubio endorser struggles to name Rubio accomplishments.”

12:21 pm – Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots writes an op-ed to fight the “dirty tricks” moniker clouding Ted Cruz:

The rich irony of the past few weeks is that the Establishment GOP is attempting to get the “dirty trickster” label irrevocably attached to Ted Cruz and his campaign because they do not want a President Cruz challenging the status quo and exposing all of the true dirty tricks in Washington, DC. Dirty tricks, after all, are the modus operandi in our nation’s Capitol. It is a dirty trick to say you are “reducing spending,” when all you are doing is simply not spending as much as you could have spent or wanted to spend. It was a dirty trick when the Democrats decided to use a procedural technique to “deem” Obamacare to have been passed, even though the Senate and the House never voted on the same bill. And it was a dirty trick for Republicans to campaign on repealing Obamacare, but then simply sit back in Congress while the law went into effect.

Americans know what dirty tricks look like, and, quite frankly, we’re sick of them. That’s why Ted Cruz, the anti-Washington candidate, won in Iowa, it’s why Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund endorsed him, and it’s why the Establishment will do anything to stop him.

12:17 pm – New York Times: Rubio Gets Party’s Blessing, but Not Voters’.

Senator Marco Rubio has persuaded wealthy donors, Republican Party elders and his colleagues in Congress that he represents their best chance to overtake the seemingly invincible force that is Donald J. Trump.

He just can’t seem to convince the voters.

…

Mr. Rubio’s time — and opportunities for victory — are quickly running out, according to even his own supporters, who are offering increasingly candid assessments of his chances.

11:52 am – Quinnipiac poll checks multiple matchups for the Ohio general election. All top four GOP candidates beat Hillary, and Trump beats Sanders if Michael Bloomberg is in the race.

11:47 am – Rubio gets an endorsement from former U.S. Senator Jim Bunning.

11:44 am – Stuart Stevens, top strategist for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, is equally baffled by Trump as the rest of the professional pundit/consultant class. Via New York mag:

The senior strategist for Romney, Stuart Stevens, has been watching the current campaign from afar with mounting amazement. As Donald Trump has become the front-runner—a position confirmed last night, when he won the Nevada caucuses by a wide margin—why has neither Marco Rubio nor Ted Cruz gone after him? Stevens, a sixth-generation Mississippian, was especially vexed by what transpired in South Carolina. Trump picked a fight with the Pope and insisted that George W. Bush deliberately lied to the country about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The message was “part Michael Moore and part Christopher Hitchens,” Stevens said. But no decorated war heroes were sent to hound Trump. In a values-voters state, no one raised the remark that Trump once made to Esquire: “You know, it doesn’t matter what [the media] write so long as you have a young and beautiful piece of ass.” When Trump turned on the Pope, no religious leaders were brought in to point out that this was an attack on the notion, essential to politics in South Carolina, that faith ought to be present in the public square. “They could have crushed him on that,” Stevens said. “They didn’t try.”

When conservatives have attacked Trump, in third-party ads and interviews on Fox News, their line has been that he is a liberal in disguise. But Trump’s support doesn’t depend on him being an orthodox conservative. “The way to beat Donald Trump is to go after the essence of Donald Trump,” Stevens said. “Donald Trump is a ridiculous figure. He’s not a particular business success. Four bankruptcies! He doesn’t have a junior-high-school-level understanding of policy—he doesn’t know what the nuclear triad is. You’ve got to turn to Donald Trump in a debate and say, ‘You’re a ridiculous figure. You don’t know what you’re talking about. And this tariff idea will cost jobs, it will damage the economy, just like you bankrupted Atlantic City.’ ” Stevens recalled that after Vladimir Putin said some nice things about Trump, the candidate arranged his entire foreign policy around a pro-Putin stance. Trump is “like a stray dog,” Stevens said. “Pat him on the head and he’ll follow you home.”

11:40 am – HOT TAKE from one of the country’s leading providers of violence against minority babies:

11:39 am – Trump’s first congressional endorsement comes from Rep. Duncan Hunter:

In an interview on Wednesday, Hunter told POLITICO that Trump has the strength needed for the job. “We don’t need a policy wonk as president. We need a leader as president,” Hunter said, adding that he has told his colleagues much of the same thing. “I’m in, and I’ve been in,” he said in a telephone interview.

11:33 am – The Huffington Post has some thoughts about last night.

11:30 am – Trump victories by location.

11:22 am – Karl!

11:19 am – Ben Smith,  editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, writes that Hillary Clinton’s only path to victory is “scorched earth.”

There was a scenario, which looks more like a fantasy, in which Clinton was a movement. Women in their twenties, thirties, and forties would rally to her the way black Americans rallied to Obama; she would run on her own mantle of change.

In reality, nobody is that excited about Hillary Clinton, and young voters, women and men — the foot soldiers of any Democratic Party movement — aren’t coming around. She lost a resounding 82% of voters under 30 in Nevada. Her campaign now rests on the hope that voters of color like her well enough, if nowhere near as much as they like Obama. And that means that when she faces a Republican, she will have to destroy him — something the people who will be doing the destroying acknowledged when I asked them earlier this month.

“The slogan is ‘Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid,’” said Paul Begala, who is an adviser to the pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA.

10:22 am – Magnitude of Trump’s Nevada win becoming clear.

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10:09 am – Joel Pollak: Ted Cruz Needs to Build a Broader Coalition

The conventional wisdom remains that the only way for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to beat Donald Trump is to attack him relentlessly over the next week until Super Tuesday, especially in Thursday night’s GOP debate.

That is the same bad advice that has failed for one Republican candidate after another, and which Cruz wisely ignored until January.

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9:47 am – Texas Governor Greg Abbott endorses Ted Cruz.

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9:33 am – Massive record turnout for GOP in NV. Dem turnout crashed.

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9:21 am – MUST READ: How Trump beats Hillary.

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9:17 am – From Charlie Spiering: Marco Rubio: Unity Ticket With Ted Cruz Not Going to Happen

“First of all, both Ted and I are both running vibrant national campaigns, so the voters are going to have to provide the consolidation, it’s not going to be a deal between candidates. That just never happens, and it isn’t going to happen now.”

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9:05 – Trump surges to statistical tie in Cruz’s home state of Texas.

The last poll out of the Lone Star State had Cruz up +8:

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8:51 am – During an appearance on third place New Day, RNC Chair Reince Priebus mocked the Washington Post.

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8:49 am – Rubio still has not confirmed at CPAC

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8:35 am – Rubio’s master plan appears to have a flaw:

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8:27 am – “Donald Trump Bringing Order to Republican Chaos”

8:19 am – From Charlie Spiering: Marco Rubio Finally Cites A State He Will Win: Florida

As the Republican primary campaign continues, Sen. Marco Rubio has refused to play an expectations game while his opponents question which state he could possibly win.

But the Florida senator finally predicted a win in his home state, during an interview Wednesday morning.

“Well, we will with win in Florida, now that Governor Bush is no longer in the race,” Rubio said, noting that a lot of the former governor’s support had gone to him.

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8:17 am – “Trump Has Won More Votes Than Romney Had At This Point in 2012”

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8:07 am – “It’s over; Trump is going to be the Republican nominee”

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7:58 am – From Michelle Moons: Ted Cruz, 3rd Again in Nevada, Looks To Texas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada —Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is looking to Texas to re-launch his campaign, as early voting in the candidate’s home state has already logged 500,000 votes, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.told Breitbart News Tuesday night.

“This race is getting down to two people. Rubio doesn’t have a pathway to victory,” Patrick said.

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7:51 am – From Charlie Spiering: Marco Rubio: I’m Not In This Race To Attack Donald Trump

Senator Marco Rubio dismissed repeated questions about when he would finally attack Donald Trump with gusto to halt his momentum in the Republican presidential race.

“I don’t understand this, I know that there’s a craving in the media for people to attack each other but I’ve never been a campaign that attacks people,” Rubio said. “Now if I’ve been attacked I responded and we set the record straight about policy differences.”

Rubio said he would continue to point out his differences with Trump, citing the last Republican debate where Trump suggested that George W. Bush was responsible for 9/11 as an example.

“I’ve pointed out the things that Donald is for that I don’t agree with,” he said. “We’ll have a debate tomorrow night, and if there are policy differences we’re going to talk about those.”

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7:38 am – Video: Trump Caucus-Blocks Glenn Beck

Donald Trump made an impromptu stop at a caucus site in Las Vegas where Glenn Beck was appearing on behalf of his candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump entered the site at the exact moment Beck was Cruz. As soon as the word dropped caucus-goers mobbed the door to see the candidate make his entrance.

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7:29 am – Rubio guarantees a March 15 win in Florida.

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7:21 – Scarborough speaks the unspoken: Rubio not attacking Trump because Rubio wants to be Trump’s VP.

Bonus: Rubio helps Trump in must-win Florida and with Hispanics.

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7:16 am – 2016 in a nutshell?

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7:09 am – PredictWise opens with Trump at 68%, Rubio at 40%, everyone else at 1%.

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7:07 am – Everyone is calling for Cruz and Kasich to step down in order to make way for Rubio. This makes little sense. Kasich could win his home state of Ohio. Cruz is ahead in his home state of Texas. These are both big states. Currently, Rubio does not lead in any big state, including his home state of Florida.

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7:01 am – Joe Scarborough just said that last night Nicolle Wallace declared the GOP primary race “over.”

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6:45 am – With 100% reporting, Trump has won Nevada with 46% of the vote. Marco Rubio came in a distant second with 24%. Ted Cruz earned a close thirds with 21%.

Bottom line: In a record turnout, Trump beat second and third place combined.

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1:45: Flashback:

From Breitbart’s Michelle Moons:

1:30: Latest Nevada Results with 17% reporting (Trump > Rubio + Cruz)

Trump: 46.5

Rubio: 23.4

Cruz: 20.4

1:20: Cruz thanks his leadership team in Nevada. He congratulates Donald Trump on a “strong evening.” He wants to congratulate the conservative grassroots as well. Cruz says his campaign is the only campaign that has beat Trump and is the only campaign that can. He speaks to the 65% of Republicans who were not against Trump (lame talking point because 80%, by that logic, were against him). He frames Rubio/Trump as Washington dealmakers running against the “proven conservative.”  Cruz says he has led the fight against amnesty, to Obamacare, for life/traditional marriage/religious liberty/the Second Amendment. Cruz says he can’t wait to get to Texas. And he says “tonight, we’re one step closer to morning in America…”

1:15: None of the networks are televising whatever Beck may be babbling on about.

1:10: From Breitbart’s Michelle Moons: Glenn Beck introducing Ted Cruz

1:06: Van Jones Concedes Trump Can Win White House:

Late at night, Democrats like Van Jones reveal inconvenient truths they often try to hide. Last week, Jones said that black Americans may support Trump in the general election. Today, he said on CNN that Democrats need to take Trump seriously because he can make it all the way to the White House because he is opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal and fighting for fairer trade deals for American workers.

1:05: Breitbart’s Michelle Moons at Cruz’s event:

1:03: Breitbart’s Joel Pollak in Nevada:

1:00: Trump haters:

12:53: Trump says “we’re going to be celebrating for a long time tonight. So have a good night.” Trump says despite what the pundits were saying, now we’re “winning, winning, winning” and soon the country is going to start “winning, winning, winning.” He thanks his volunteers for working endlessly. “We’re not going to forget it,” he says. Trump cites his amazing numbers out of Texas, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida.

Trump says this is going to be “an amazing two months. We might not even need the two months.”

Trump mocks the mainstream media/GOP smart set for their foolish talking points about Trump’s ceiling. He points out that he’ll get the votes from other candidates when they drop out and 100% of a candidate’s support will not go to his opponent. Trump points out he won all demographic groups…young, old, highly-educated, poorly-educated…“I love the poorly-educated,” Trump says, adding that his supporters are the smartest. At an earlier rally, Trump said the “poorly-educated” are people who are smart but just could not get a so-called “big-education”

Trump proudly states he won with 46% of Hispanics. He says Mexico will pay for the and we will be the “smart people” who won’t get pushed around. He promises that you’ll be proud of your president and country.

Trump says he was all over the place and the “people are amazing. The enthusiasm. It was unbelievable to see… I love you folks, very much. Remember, make America great again…. It’s going to happen fast.”

Crowd chants “USA! USA! USA! USA!”

[Again, Trump needs to get better with these post-election speeches. He should have been speaking to the SEC states and others that follow with some broader themes. He keeps hitting singles/doubles when he should be slamming moonshots. He’s getting better as a candidate, though.]

12:50: Trump addresses supporters in Nevada after his massive Nevada win:

“We love Nevada,” Trump says. “Thank you!”

Crowd chants “Trump! Trump! Trump!”

12:42: These two tweets explain tons:

12:35: Mainstream/Left-wing reporters mocking Rubio:

12:32: Matt Drudge: ‘THE NOMINEE’

12:27: Oh shut up! Failed GOP consultant who has never won a presidential election and just blew $100+ million on Jeb!’s failed campaign (while reportedly pocketing at least $12 million for himself and even more for his cronies) should be prohibited from offering any opinions during this election cycle. Will say it again: Going to him for advice is like getting advice on how to sink free throws from Messrs. Jordan (DeAndre), Howard, and Drummond.

12:24: The ‘Wow’ Number:

12:22: Supreme Court vacancy did not hurt Trump:

12:15: Ben Carson continuing campaign, says “I believe things are starting to happen here.”

12:14: From Breitbart’s Team in Nevada: Scene from Rubio’s Nevada “victory party”

12:12: No “victory” speech for Rubio:

12:08: Tony Lee: Since we’re talking about the Nevada caucuses, we can talk about point spreads. Imagine what would happen in sports if a basketball team that was supposed to lose by 15 lost by 10 and their supporters stormed the court in celebration after the loss? Now imagine if the sports media (not the sports-wagering/handicapping media) treated the 10-point loss as a win. That’s what the mainstream/GOP establishment media are doing with Rubio’s “victory speeches.” They would get resoundingly mocked. It gets beyond ridiculous at some point and will give the late-night shows plenty of fodder to mock Rubio as a loser trying to claim victories. And that’s probably why he is not giving a “victory speech” tonight. To quote Jim Rome: “Scoreboard.”

12:06: Wasn’t GOP establishment darling Rubio the one who was supposed to get “across the board” support?

12:04: A beauty of a Tweet from Fox News:

12:02: Breitbart’s Nussbaum at Trump’s victory party:

12:00: CNN PROJECTS DONALD TRUMP WINS NEVADA CAUCUSES:

11:58: Breitbart’s Joel Pollak in Nevada: Nevada Caucuses: Friends, Neighbors Debate

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Friends and neighbors debated the Republican candidates’ pros and cons at the Nevada caucuses at Durango High School on Tuesday evening, with hundreds standing patiently in line to cast their votes and hear from representatives of the different campaigns.

The atmosphere was festive, with an eclectic variety of caucusgoers actively engaging in political conversations about the candidates and the issues.

Since the caucuses are not decided through a secret ballot, but through deliberation, there were few restrictions on campaign paraphernalia worn by attendees–or by staff.

11:55: Entrance Poll: Trump Winning Hispanic voters. Trump said he would win the Latino vote in Nevada:

11:48: Lots of reasons for Trump’s campaign to be excited:

11:45: Breitbart’s Daniel Nussbaum in Nevada: ‘Circus Circus’: Republicans Caucus in Nevada

LAS VEGAS, Nevada— Eager Republican caucus-goers filled the cafeteria and classrooms at Desert Oasis High School Tuesday evening to cast their ballots in the nation’s fourth presidential nominating contest.

Long lines formed outside the school ahead of the 5 p.m. start time, and many of the hundreds of Nevadans in attendance told Breitbart News that they had never participated in a caucus before.

Read more here.

11:40: What the mainstream media don’t mention: Immigration and the economy are inextricably linked. The numbers may be higher if voters were asked if they cared about “illegal immigration” instead of just “immigration.”

11:25: Flashback: Embracing ‘Angry’ Voters May Help Trump Win Nomination

11:15: Photos from Breitbart’s Michelle Moons in Nevada:

11:00: Glenn Beck Says Trump Is ‘Grooming Brown Shirts’

Some of the nastiest people I have ever been with. (Trump supporters). We have their hate and rage on tape. Others around them were embarrassed for them. It was scary and sad.

[…]

I believe Trump, whether he knows it or not, is grooming brown shirts.

Remarkable words coming from this Glenn Beck. 

10:57: Cruz campaign telling CNN reporters that they will be happy with a third-place finish.

10:53: Gov. Sandoval caucused for Rubio, but he said it wasn’t an endorsement

10:50: Nevada caucus results will trickle in here.

10:48: Joel Pollak spots a Trump protester in Nevada:

10:45: Huh? Kasich in Georgia said he is not sure if goal is to be elected president:

John Kasich’s relentlessly positive stump speeches can often feel like motivational seminars. But on a rainy Tuesday night in Georgia, the man it sounded like Kasich was trying to motivate was himself.

“Here’s what I know. I know I’m doing my best,” he told a crowd of 100 supporters who had spilled outside of the Sandy Springs City Hall that was too small to accommodate all of those who had shown up. “I’m following the purpose that I think has been laid out for me. And to achieve that goal …” He paused briefly. “I’m not exactly sure what the goal is. Some might say it’s being elected president. Maybe it’s a different goal.”

10:42: Nevadans decided early. That may mean a “very big night” for Trump:

10:40: Nevada GOP: “It’s not against the rules for volunteers to wear candidate gear.”

10:36: Nevada most receptive to an “outsider” so far:

10:35: Two-thirds want next President to be “outside politics”

10:34: CNN: Cruz camp lowering expectations. CNN’s Brian Todd–most people at Desert Oasis High School caucus site are for Trump.

10:33: Trump supporter:

10:32: Cruz wins over voters:

10:31: GOP caucus ballot:

10:30: Nevada GOP: “no official reports of voting irregularities or violations”

10:28: Conservative grassroots happy:

10:27: Lots of Trump support:

10:25: ProPublica’s Alec MacGillis mocks the pro-Rubio spin:

10:23: Chaos:

10:20: Government watchdog reporter at the Reno Gazette Journal points out that “Nevada holds caucuses, not a primary election. Candidate swag is OK.”

10:18: Adelsons caucusing:

10: 17: Fox News thinks barely edging Cruz for second and getting walloped by Trump by 10+ points is a “big second-place win”:

10:15: There seems to be chaos in Nevada as caucus locations were not prepared for the massive turnout of voters

10:11: Video from Joel Pollak:

10:08: Breitbart’s Daniel Nussbaum in Nevada:

• Christie, Fiorina, huckabee, Santorum, bush, Paul all still on the ballot and can be voted for…. And allowed a 2-minute pitch
• Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick is Cruz surrogate at Desert Oasis High School: Cruz is “only conservative” in the race, he says. Two-minute speaking time limit strictly enforced.

10:07: Joel Pollak:

10:00: Nevada: Photos from Breitbart’s Adelle Nazarian:

The Hardy couple has been married for 61 years. Beverly, 84, is voting for Rubio because she thinks we need ‘young blood. ‘ Robert, 88, wants Trump because he can “get the job done.”

The man to the right, Steve Haver, says he is voting for John Kasich. His second choice is Rubio. “Anyone but Trump,” he told Breitbart News. “If Trump gets the nomination, I’m voting for Hillary.”

Trump supporters

“This is the only time I show my chest”

9:55: TRUMP CRASHES GLENN BECK’S CAUCUS SPEECH:

Donald Trump crashed the caucus location where conservative talk show host Glenn Beck was speaking on behalf of Ted Cruz.
MSNBC was broadcasting a live look at the caucus site, Palo Verde High School in Summerlin, when Trump suddenly showed up and made an impromptu speech of his own.

“We are going to have hopefully a historic night,” Trump said. “I appreciate everybody being here. I wanted to be here myself and say a few words.”

The billionaire informed his Twitter followers he would be “at various caucus sites” throughout Nevada Tuesday, but didn’t specify where.

9:54: Cuomo, talking about the Ginsburg-Scalia friendship, asks Clinton who is her Scalia. She says Scalia and Ginsburg actually got to spend time with each other and get to know each other as people. She laments that lawmakers don’t get to do that now. Clinton says she looked for opportunities to work across the aisle when her husband became president. She says she worked with Tom DeLay and Lindsey Graham. She says relationships underlie everything. She answers people like John McCain/Susan Collins.

9:48: South Carolina’s poet laureate asks how she will harness the power of forgiveness. Clinton says she could not be standing here if she had not been forgiven many times and if she had not been able to forgive those who had disappointed or wronged her. She talks about the Truth and Reconciliation Process in South America and speaks about the time she spent with Nelson Mandela. She said it was a stunning example of “what is possible” and we could do a lot more if we could “harness those feelings.” She says she sees so much “anger” and talks about “violent images” and “threats against people” that are “deeply troubling” to her. Clinton says more people should walk in other people’s shoes and being more forgiving is one of our biggest challenges.

9:45: Charter school founder asks Clinton if our students are put at a disadvantage because international students go to school for 40 more days a year than American students. Clinton says we need to focus on disadvantaged, low-income kids and those with learning difficulties because they need more time to learn.

9:42: Questioner asks Clinton about funding Social Security. She says she will prevent Republicans from privatizing it and that has to be the highest priority. Regarding the trust fund, Clinton says “we have to go where the money is” and “have to look at different ways to get more money into the trust fund.” She suggests raising the cap or expanding the Social Security tax to passive/investment income. She says she will do everything she can to extend the life of the trust fund. She says there are a lot of low-wage workers, women who were not in the formal workforce who don’t get enough benefits to get by. Clinton says we also need to be concerned about widows who lose half their benefits when their husband dies.

9:30: Cuomo says late-night comedians love Hillary. Cuomo shows Clinton her interview with Scott Pelley in which she said she “always tries” to tell the truth. He shows her Colbert mocking Clinton’s answer and says if that’s a question that she would like another chance answering. Clinton says “no.” My goodness, Cuomo tiptoes around the “drip, drip, drip” re: her email scandal [more proof the mainstream media treat Democrats like their own family while treating Republicans like the enemy]…

Clinton says she has turned over 55,000 pages of emails and claims that nobody has ever been as transparent/open as she has and says she is “not at all worried about it.” That’s it, folks. We’ve asked what we had to ask and let’s go to the audience. No grilling at all.

9:30: A questioner asks what she would do to help strengthen families. Clinton says a lot of families are trying to keep “body and soul together” and are under tremendous economic stress. She speaks about raising the minimum wage and equal pay. She says we should do more to help support families as they raise their children. She touts her “It Takes a Village” book and says the community/extended families should help families do right by their own kids. She speaks of more early childhood education and universal pre-K programs.

9:25: Clinton says she will support young people whether they support her or not when asked why liberal millennials are voting for Sanders. She takes the opportunity to discuss student debt. She says students should get free education if they do “national service.” Clinton says she wants debt-free tuition but not “free college” because her family and Trump’s family should not get “free college.”

9:24: Clinton says what she got out of going to Wellesley was that women ran everything. She says she is grateful for the experience and was grateful to the women who had been in the Senate before when she got to the Senate. She says there was a bipartisan group of women who regularly met to discuss trivial things like what to do with their handbags and more serious things like women’s issues, childcare, equal pay, etc.

[Clinton again hacks/coughs…. but only Sanders is asked about his age/health]

Nevada:

9:19: Cuomo says that a lot of law enforcement officers found Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance offensive and asks Clinton if she understands where they are coming from. Clinton says most police officers perform honorably but “we have problems in our criminal justice system in a  lot of places that we can’t ignore.” She says put aside any particular celebrity/song or performance and cites instances like Walter Scott in South Carolina. She says the answer is not to find ourselves in opposing camps where we look at each other with “mistrust.” She says police should be trained to use force as a last resort. She doesn’t answer whether she understands where the police officers who were opposed to Beyonce’s performance are coming from.

9:17: Clinton says Jim Crow is “unfortunately alive and well.” She says there are places in South Carolina where black babies have a higher rate of dying than in a lot of other places. She says the infant mortality rate can be compared to those in some third-world countries. She blasts Haley for not accepting Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. Clinton tells the questioner that she has the right to wear her hair any way she wants to and that’s her right. Clinton says that she herself has had a lot of different hair styles.

9:15: An African-American woman question asks Clinton that recently she has started to wear her hair “natural” and says there have been a lot of racial tension recently. She cites the reaction to Beyonce’s Formation video (remember: CNN chose these questions to be asked)…. Clinton says we have to deal with “systemic racism” that is found in the criminal justice system, education,  housing. She says “systemic racism” is also cultural and asks the five women who have lost children to “senseless gun violence” and police action to stand up. Trayvon Martin’s mother and four others campaigned with Clinton earlier in the day and they are with her at CNN’s town hall in the audience. She says it is important for white people to realize that their experience may not equip them to understand what African-American citizens go through every day.

9:12: Joel in Nevada:

9:10: Cruz fires back at Trump.

9:08: Questioner asks Clinton how she would contain the sectarian violence that would ensue if Assad is toppled. Clinton says that in Syria, it looks like there will be a cease fire by the weekend. She rambles and says the international community should give them some “time and space.” When asked if her Libya policy was a mistake, Clinton talks about the Nato/Arab nations coalition and defends America’s use of “our special assets” to help Libya.

9:06: Trump Tweets:

9:05: Cuomo asks Clinton about the transfer of people in GITMO and why the people of South Carolina should have some of the worst people in the world in their backyard. Clinton says Obama hasn’t made any decisions about where the detainees should go. She says Obama is right to close GITMO, which she says terrorists use to recruit more terrorists,

9:00: Hillary is now on stage. Cuomo points out that Rep. Clyburn has endorsed her. Clinton says that every election and caucus needs to be taken seriously and she is taking “no vote, no place for granted. Cuomo asks Clinton about her Wall Street transcripts because “they have become an issue.” In a legalese answer, Clinton says she will if everybody else–including Republicans–releases their transcripts. She pivots and claims she has the best plans to combat the excesses on Wall Street. Clinton complains why there is one standard for her…. [perhaps because nobody got paid as much as she did giving speeches to Wall Street]… Clinton says everybody should be on a level playing field. Clinton says “there is no unknown” regarding her speeches on Wall Street [then why not release the transcripts? Already, this town hall is not good for Clinton to general election voters]

Clinton says Obama took an enormous amount of money from Wall Street and pushed through Dodd-Frank.

8:58: Breitbart News in Nevada:

8:54: Sanders says he has known Clinton for 35 years and he respects and likes her. He says “we’re not Republicans, after all.” Sanders says “a very few people” control our political/economic systems and it is “too late” for establishment politics/economics. He says we need a revolution where millions come together and demand a government that represents all of us.

8:53: Sanders is asked if there is something he believes so deeply that he would rather lose an election rather than win and compromise on it. He says that’s a “fair question” and says he will try to do his best to run a principled campaign and not let his supporters down. He says he wants to fight for people who don’t have a lot of power and take on those who abuse power.

8:50: Sanders is asked what he believes in re: religion/spirituality… Sanders says every great religion in the world comes down to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”…. Sanders says it is easy to turn our backs on veterans sleeping on the street or children who are starving but when we do the right thing and treat people with respect and dignity, “I think we are more human when we do that.” He says that is what he believes in. And most people around the world share that belief.

8:46: Questioner, who lost his father to lung cancer, asks Sanders about cigarette smoking and wonders what reforms Sanders would put in place if elected president like raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products. Sanders says he doesn’t know if he would go in that direction but says cigarette smoke contributed to his father’s death. Sanders says the tobacco industry epitomizes corporate greed. He blasts them for having pretty girls giving out tobacco to kids around the world like heroin. He says he will do everything he can to help low-income people find the treatment that they need to help them get off of cigarettes. Sanders says taking on the tobacco industry is something he will enjoy doing very much.

8:45: Sanders says his goal will be to spend healthcare funds on healthcare for the American people instead of on bureaucracy.

8:44: Sanders says he won’t be beholden to special interests and again asks why these interests donate millions candidates. He says his average contribution is $27 and those are the people to whom he is indebted.

8:42: Sanders names Bill Gates when asked if there are any billionaires he admires. He says Gates is trying to make the world a better place. He blasts the Koch brothers for undermining American democracy.

8:41: Sanders says he has never gone around telling voters that he will solve all their problems. He says that he has repeatedly said that “together” we will fix the country’s problems.

8:40: Sanders dismisses Clinton’s charge that he is a single-issue candidate

Scenes from Nevada. Photos from Breitbart News’s team on the ground:

From Joel Pollak:

Enormous lines at Durango High School

Japanese Media at Durango High School

Michelle Moons at Desert Oasis High School

Daniel Nussbaum at Desert Oasis High School

From Adelle Nazarian:

From Joel Pollak: Voters lining up at Durango High School

8:31: Sanders is aske what two leadership truths would he share with her undergraduate students. Sanders says you cannot be a good leader unless you go into your heart of hearts and passionately believe in what you believe. He says people have to be ready to fight for what they believe in.

8:30: Sanders says we need to have the guts to take on the insurance, pharmaceutical industries with their armies of lobbyists to get his Medicare for all plan enacted.

From Joel Pollak in Nevada:

8:24: Sanders tells a questioner that there has been a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the top 1/10 of one percent. He says it is time for Wall Street to help the middle class.

8:19: Sanders is asked about Supreme Court Justices. Sanders blames Republicans for wanting to obstruct Obama since he came into office. He says the latest effort to block Obama’s potential nominee to replace Scalia is part of a “continuous” and “unprecedented” obstructionism effort. Sanders says Thurgood Marshall was a great Supreme Court Justice.

Sanders accuses Republicans, birthers, and Trump of a “racist” effort to delegitimize Obama. Sanders says his dad came from Poland but nobody is asking his birth certificate.

When Cuomo asks if Trump is motivated by race, Sanders punts and says he is not a psychoanalyst. He says “absolutely” there is race involved in parts of the GOP base.

8:17: Cuomo asks Sanders why his message has not been resonating with black voters. Sanders says his message wasn’t resonating with anyone at he beginning of the campaign. He says African-Americans are becoming more receptive to his message of investing in jobs and education and “not jails and incarceration.” Sanders says he has specific ideas on how the federal government can play a “major role” in ending the militarization of local police departments and ensuring that they look more like their communities.

8:14: Questioner asks Sanders how private historically black colleges and universities will be impacted by his plan for free public college for all. Sanders says he believes historically black colleges and universities play “an important role” and we should make sure that “we must sustain and strengthen the historically black colleges and universities.” Sanders says “you have my word” that we will increase funding to historically black colleges and universities… Sanders says they are under a lot of financial pressure because they do the right thing and welcome kids that Harvard and Yale may not welcome. He says those colleges deserve very strong support.

8:12: First questioner, an African-American woman, asks Sanders whether he would allow staff/teachers to carry guns in order to defend the students. Sanders says he has D- NRA rating. Sanders says he would not be supportive of people taking guns into houses of worships if he were a governor. Sanders says “we have got to do everything we can do expand and improve instant background checks.” He says those with criminal background and are mentally unstable should not get guns.

8:11: Sanders is asked about Obama’s plan to close GITMO. Sanders says we look like “hypocrites” and “fools” to the entire world by locking people up in an island. He says that has hurt us all over the world.

8:10: Sanders is asked about his comments about how the CIA is a “dangerous” institution. Sanders says that was 40 years ago and he has concerns about the past activities of the CIA in Iran and Chile. He says the CIA plays an “important role” but they have done things they should not have done on behalf of the United States.

8:07: Sanders mocks Clinton for not releasing the transcripts of her paid speeches to Wall Street. “Here are the transcripts of all my paid speeches to Wall Street,” Sanders says. “There aren’t none.”

8:03: Sanders is up first. Sanders says the progress he has made in the last nine months has been “mind-blowing.” He cites his campaign’s momentum–he says he was in single digits in nearly every state just nine months ago. He then goes into his talking points about the “rigged economy” and the “corrupt” campaign finance system. He also talks about the “broken criminal justice system.” Sanders says people are saying “enough with establishment politics and economics.”

8:00: Nevada’s GOP caucus begin as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders participate in a South Carolina town hall event on CNN.

7:50: Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak’s impromptu interview with Donald Trump Jr.

7:27: Hillary going all out to win over black voters:

7:25: Sanders returning to alma mater for Hardball’s College Tour:

7:20: Speaking of Georgia…

7:17: Cruz, Rubio campaigns making big plays in Georgia, per the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is about to become the first Republican presidential candidate to drop real money in Atlanta, with a $400,000 TV campaign that starts Wednesday, six days before the SEC primary. He may also be purchasing airtime elsewhere in the state. The size of the Atlanta buy is significant – the average viewer will see his message 10 times by next Tuesday.

[…]

Finally, Conservative Solutions PAC, which supports Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, has spent $350,000 on nearly 300 sots on all four major Atlanta stations. According to FCC records, most of the ads will run during local news broadcasts, game shows and late-night talk shows, with a few popping up on “60 Minutes” on CBS.

7:08: Trayvon Martin’s mother campaigns for Hillary. Clinton is reportedly giving what is essentially a “Black Lives Matter” speech in South Carolina:

7:05: Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) stumped for Clinton in Georgia while it looks like Sanders is pulling out of the Southern Super Tuesday states and putting his resources into five non-Southern states.

6:50: Interesting point from Conservative Review editor:

6:45: Media blew it out of proportion. What a surprise:

6:43: More mainstream media reporters figuring out GOP has enthusiasm on its side:

6:40: Campaigns are grueling:

6:35: Glowing Washington Post profile of Julian Castro… media working to boost his image so he can potentially be on Clinton’s ticket:

6:32: Trump blasts Club for Growth again:

6:30: Kasich challenged to take the gloves off:

6:27: Hillary supports Obama’s plan to close GITMO (Tony Lee: Obama has considerable leverage in the next few months because Hillary has to agree with him on nearly everything to appeal especially to black voters in addition to others in the Obama coalition. I wonder if/how Obama will exploit this dynamic.)

6:25: Can Cruz pull off the upset?

6:24: Crowds turning out for Cruz as he unveils new attack line:

6:15: Trump to Texas on Friday:

6:07: Trump: Cruz Is Like a ‘Soft, Weak Little Baby’

Via Breitbart TV.

6:05: Per AP, Cruz is pushing the Reagan comparison very hard:

Republican Ted Cruz says he’s facing the same sort of opposition from the Washington establishment that tried to take Ronald Reagan out before he unseated Jimmy Carter.

Cruz is campaigning on Nevada’s caucus day Tuesday with Texas Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the grandson of Sen. Paul Laxalt, one of Reagan’s best friends. Laxalt introduced Cruz to a crowd of about 400 at an outdoor park in rural Minden during the second of four campaign stops hours before Republicans start to cast their votes.

Cruz said Republicans are asking the same questions about him that they asked of Reagan back then: Can he win? Is he too conservative?

Cruz said the “Reagan Revolution” didn’t come from Washington, which he said “despised Reagan.” He said Paul Laxalt was among the leaders of a “movement that turned this country around”

5:58: Pretty cute.

5:50: Rep. Pete King endorses Rubio.

“Republicans can’t afford to forfeit this race to Hillary Clinton by nominating the wrong candidate,” King said in a statement.

“I’m endorsing Marco Rubio because he has all the ingredients for a winning campaign: inspiration, judgement, and vision.”

5:46: Associated Press snapshot of the race hours before caucuses start:

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ted Cruz is fighting to keep from spiraling out of contention.

Marco Rubio is fighting to prove he can build on his recent momentum.

And Donald Trump, with his rivals locked in a battle for second, is fighting for a third straight victory to expand a delegate lead that could soon become insurmountable.

Tuesday night’s Nevada caucuses force a critical test on the Republican Party’s leading presidential candidates.

“I think it’s the most unpredictable of all the races we’ve had so far. You go in really knowing less about this than any other election,” said a less-than-confident Rubio. “We’ll see.”

Cruz, a fiery conservative popular among voters on the GOP’s right, needs a spark to recover from one of the weakest moments of his campaign.

After denying charges of dishonest tactics for several weeks, the Texas senator on Monday asked for and received the resignation of a senior aide who spread an inaccurate news report suggesting Rubio had criticized the Bible. That was just days after Cruz finished a disappointing third in South Carolina after spending much of the past two weeks defending his integrity.

Another disappointing finish in Nevada’s low-turnout caucuses would raise new questions about Cruz’s viability heading into a crucial batch of Super Tuesday states on March 1.

5:39: Alex Swoyer on Trump’s afternoon rally:

Ahead of Tuesday night’s caucuses in Nevada, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump told his supporters, “Keep your eyes out for dishonest stuff.”

“Dishonesty can knock out a poll very quickly,” Trump told his supporters at his campaign rally Tuesday afternoon in Sparks, Nevada, adding that dishonesty is the “only way we lose.”

5:32: Marco Rubio Plans Summit with His Mentor Jeb Bush–by Charlie Spiering:

Rubio is planning to meet with his former political mentor Jeb Bush to try to bury the hatchet, the Florida Senator says.

Speaking to reporters in Nevada today, Rubio said that he spoke with Bush on Monday and had “a nice conversation,” according to the New York Times.

5:28: Ted Cruz on offense against Trump/Rubio–instead of saying “lying,” though, it’s a bit more Biblical:

5:23: Well, duh.

5:14: Uh oh. Gonna be a late night!

5:13: Rubio facing a receptive crowd in Minnesota:

5:08: Former governor of Puerto Rico endorses Rubio.

5:06: Steve King says Cruz’s apology to Carson is a mistake.

5:04: Chicago Tribune’s Clarence Page writes on Trump supporters’ view of race:

In fact, Norton wrote in a later New York Times essay, many whites now believe anti-white bias is even more prevalent than anti-black bias — a sentiment not shared by blacks — and “are now using their sense of marginalization as a rallying cry toward action.”

The result, writes Norton, has been a “jockeying for stigma” among various identity groups, a competition for victimhood into which Trump has tapped.

From my African-American perspective — and that of Bartlett, who happens to be white — it is preposterous to see whites as marginalized and powerless in America after centuries of advantages.

Yet it is neither wise nor fair to dismiss Trump’s voters as racists. Many see themselves as victims of a system that deliberately has overlooked their concerns about immigration, trade, education costs and other issues that have buffeted their lives.

4:43: Sanders campaign will reportedly clarify an email it sent to supporters claiming that Clinton’s campaign was charging donors $27,000 to attend a Hollywood fundraiser:

Bernie Sanders’ campaign will clarify an incorrect fundraising email they sent Tuesday morning that claimed Hillary Clinton’s campaign was charging “some donors” $27,000 to attend a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Monday night.

“It’s no exaggeration to say this is the most important stretch of our campaign,” reads the email. “Secretary Clinton’s supporters are responding: her campaign is holding at least a dozen high-dollar fundraisers this week, including one last night where some donors paid $27,000 to attend.”

After sending the email Tuesday, Mike Casca, Sanders’ rapid response spokesman, acknowledged the email needed clarification.

“Our supporters are really fired up about Clinton’s high-dollar fundraising, so when we send another fundraising email about it tonight we’ll be sure to clarify that the high-dollar donors ‘bundled’ instead of ‘donated’ $27,000, which is more than the annual salary of a worker making $12 per hour,” Casca said.

4:39: The mothers of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Sandra Bland will join Clinton at a South Carolina town hall event. Clinton and Sanders will also meet at a CNN town hall event at 8 PM EST.

4:29: Trump tells his supporters that they have to go caucus for him tonight. “We have a mission.” He says “and to put it in our language, you have to go vote, essentially.” He again ask supporters to be on the lookout for “dishonest stuff.”

4:26: “You are reprimanded,” Trump tells someone in the audience who shouted an obscenity. “I didn’t hear that.”

4:25: Trump says his supporters are also the “toughest” in addition to being the “smartest.”

4:22: Trump says he is beating Clinton in the polls and “I haven’t even started on her yet.” Trump says “look at what we did to various people.” He says he and his people took out candidates who attacked him like Walker, Perry, Jeb!. Trump says Jeb! didn’t take his call when he called him to wish him the best. He says maybe Jeb! called back and “we didn’t get the call.”

4:21: Trump blasts Hillary for making a statement about “sexists.” “She had a rough week with her husband,” Trump says, adding that the “last person” Hillary wants to run against is him.

4:20: Trump says “Hillary needs energy” and again points out that she lacks the stamina to be president.

4:17: According to CNN, the Clinton campaign reportedly has a DDD strategy to diminish Sanders as a single-issue candidate, define him as someone with pie-in-they-sky proposals, and defeat him.

4:15: Trump rails against lobbyists who target people like Cruz and Rubio. He says it was a “disgrace” that GOP debates have been stacked lobbyists backing establishment candidates. Trump says he only had his family in the audience because he is self-funding his campaign.

4:14: Big turnout expected in Nevada:

4:11: Trump says Hillary “wants to destroy the Second Amendment.” He says he likes debating New Yorkers about the importance of the Second Amendment and they “lose that debate every single time… they can’t win that debate.” Trump says nobody is going to mess around with the Second Amendment.

4:09: Trump blasts Macys for being more interested in being “politically correct” than what’s good for the country. Trump says “political correctness” is killing this country.

4:03: Trump says supporters are the “smartest” because they get the dishonesty going on in politics/Washington. He blasts pundits for saying that his supporters are low-information/”uneducated” rubes. Trump says he won among highly-educated voters and people who are “smarter than anybody but they don’t have the big education.”

“We have the smartest people,” Trump says. “Remember that, folks.”

4:02: Trump says “even the really dishonest press” have admitted that Trump’s supporters are the most loyal. He jokes that 68% of his supporters would not leave under any circumstances. He jokes: “I think that means murder, I think it means anything…”

“My people are the most loyal,” Trump says. “I love you.”

4:00: Trump says he loves “knocking off bad people” and it was an “honor” to beat Cruz in South Carolina. Trump also cites his support across a broad swath of the GOP electorate.

3:57: Trump says Cruz has never employed anybody. He says he would really like to win in Texas. “I love Texas,” he says. Trump says Cruz is going to go “way, way down” in Texas because he has been exposed as a liar.

3:56: Trump says we are going to be “keeping Guantanamo” and will be “loading it up with bad dudes.”

3:55: Trump says everybody “is taking advantage of us” because we have “incompetent” leaders.

3:54: Trump blasts former Mexican president Felipe Calderon for saying Mexico will not pay for the border wall. Trump says “they will pay for the wall.” He says the wall will be impenetrable.

3:53: Trump says having Sarah Palin’s backing has been “so great.” “She’s been so great.” He also says he will be the greatest jobs-producing president that God has ever created.

3:52: Trump says Christianity is under assault. He says evangelical leaders have said that Trump may not be perfect, but evangelicals want a leader like Trump. He praises the Falwells for building Liberty University.

3:51: Trump says he has spent less and he is number one. He says wouldn’t it be a  good thing to have a president who spends less and becomes number one. He brings up education spending and says wouldn’t it be nice if America spent its education dollars more effectively.

3:50: Trump says he is not sending back small-dollar donations that come with four-page letters because “there is no way” you can send it back nicely.

3:47: Trump says he cares about one thing–“making America great again.” Trump says he doesn’t get enough credit for self-funding his campaign. “When you go to the voter booth, I hope you remember that,” he says.

3:45: Trump says America has “rebuilt China” and China has “drained us.” He calls it the greatest theft in history. He says his Chinese friends, not thinking that he would run for president, have told him that they can’t believe the stuff they get away with. Trump calls America’s leaders the “stupid people.”

3:43: Unlike Obama Trump says he will only have State dinners for countries that treat America well.

3:41: Trump says Border Patrol agents are now his friends and they don’t like being told to “stand back.” He says we have people pouring through the border and “they’re not supposed to be here.” He says “we are going to build a wall.”

3:38: Trump says Hillary neither has the “strength” nor “stamina” to be president. Trump says remember that he called Bush a “low-energy” candidate and says, “I’m very good at this stuff.”

[Tony Lee: Trump has shown he can attack the Clintons–and expose all of their vulnerabilities (like the war on women narrative)–like nobody has done before because of his celebrity and the megaphone that he has. The Clintons don’t talk about the “war on women” solely because of Trump. It’s something that the so-called GOP establishment “geniuses” have not been able to do.]

3:37: Trump says nobody has committed the crimes Hillary has committed but she is “being protected.”

3:36: Trump blasts failed GOP establishment strategist Stuart Stevens for giving “advice” on how Republicans can beat Trump when Stevens’s candidate Mitt Romney could not beat Obama. Trump says his hands shake and he sweats every time Trump is mentioned on air during Stevens’s appearances.

3:35: Demographer Dante Chinni, writing for NBC: Nevada’s Diversity Could Favor Trump:

Nevada is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse states in the country and in Tuesday’s Republican caucuses, that could favor Donald Trump.

That idea may sound counter intuitive. After all, in polls Trump fares especially poorly with minority voters. In the latest NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll, only 13 percent of African Americans and 15 percent of Hispanics say they have positive feelings about the candidate. Among whites that figure is 31percent.

But results from the South Carolina Republican Primary suggest he does pretty well in counties with large minority populations.

There are 28 counties in South Carolina where the white, non-Hispanic population is below the state average of 62.9 percent. Trump beat his state percentage in 25 of them. The other 18 counties, where the white, non-Hispanic population is above the average, he didn’t do as well.

3:33: Trump slams Nikki Haley for “backing the wrong horse.” He says he has been nice to Rubio because Rubio hasn’t hit him yet. But “when he does, you’ll see what happens.”

3:32: He calls the mainstream media the “stupid people.”

3:30: Trump blasts the “disgusting press.” He says they “tell you what to do” and think and they are probably more disgusting than Cruz.

3:28: Trump slams Cruz for not disclosing his Goldman Sachs loans.

3:27: “We’re shaking things up,” Trump says after citing good poll numbers from Ohio and Florida.

3:25: Donald Trump takes the stage in Sparks, Nevada. In his final rally before tonight’s Nevada caucuses, Trump says “it’s down to crunch time. We’ve got to do it.” Trump says “watch out for dishonest stuff.” “If you see anything, let us know about it,” Trump says. “We have a lot of people watching.” Trump says New Hampshire was 100% legit and beautiful and South Carolina was “absolutely perfect.” Trump says “we have tremendous poll numbers here” but “you never know” because “dishonesty” can knock out poll numbers. Trump says the only way we lose is because of “dishonesty.”

Trump says other candidates made their speeches and ran away. He tells the crowd that you shouldn’t vote for people who abandon you. Trump says “I’m going to be with you all night.” Trump asks people to stick around for a bit to watch if there are any shenanigans.

3:21: Angry Reid says GOP is becoming the party of Trump:

3:16: Cruz surrogate Steve Deace really doesn’t want Cruz to apologize anymore… maybe he’s trying to top Glenn Beck’s claim that God killed Justice Scalia to help Cruz win the white House:

3:07: On CNN, Dr. Ben Carson says he hops the race does not become a “personality contest” as the field winnows. Addressing his comments about how Obama was “raised white,” Carson says “go back and read the whole interview.” He says the “real key” is that many people in America are very “uncomfortable when it comes to issues of race.” He says he crossed the “PC barrier” and says nobody will deny that someone who was raised in Hawaii with his white grandparents and then raised in Indonesia by his white wife does not have the “typical black experience.”

When Poppy Harlow questions Carson about his “raised white” comments, Carson says “it doesn’t mean anything bad” and it just means that Obama’s cultural experiences are “vastly different” from that of most black Americans. He says that isn’t a bad thing, it’s just different. Carson says he grew up in Detroit and Boston. He says he lived in the “ghetto” in Boston where there was dire poverty. In contrast, he says Obama went to private schools and grew up in affluent environments. (To be fair, Obama has said on numerous occasions when addressing criminal justice reform that he may have fallen through the cracks had he grown up in a different environment.)

Carson says he believes that “all the emphasis on race is way overblown” and “this conversation is contributing to it.” Carson says this flap is a “nothingburger.”

Flashback: In 2006, liberal columnist Stanley Crouch wrote: 

Other than color, Obama did not – does not – share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves. Of course, the idea that one would be a better or a worse representative of black Americans depending upon his or her culture or ethnic group is clearly absurd.

[…]

Obama is being greeted with the same kind of public affection that Colin Powell had when he seemed ready to knock Bill Clinton out of the Oval Office. For many reasons, most of them personal, Powell did not become the first black American to be a serious presidential contender. I doubt Obama will share Powell’s fate, but if he throws his hat in the ring, he will have to run as the son of a white woman and an African immigrant. If we then end up with him as our first black President, he will have come into the White House through a side door – which might, at this point, be the only one that’s open

2:57: Kasich fires back at critics:

2:50: Rubio is Wall Street’s new darling:

2:42: After a federal judge questioned Hillary Clinton’s motives for setting up a private server/email account and declared that her top aides should testify, it is perhaps fitting that Clinton visited the set of Scandal last evening.

2:35: Spike Lee’s wife reminds Democrats that she’s for Hillary after her husband cut a radio ad for “brother” Bernie:

2:33: On CNN, Maeve Reston said that the only hope Trump’s rivals have of upsetting him tonight in Nevada is if there is low turnout. She said the enthusiastic crowds that are turning out to see Trump is a sign that Trump’s supporters will caucus for him.

2:30: Scott Brown will help Trump try to win Massachusetts:

2:23: Trump has a 52% chance to win the nomination, according to Predictwise

2:22: Trump points out, unlike Rubio, he will be in Nevada tonight. He also points out that even Fox News has noted that some Bush supporters are supporting Trump.

2:15: Sanders going after Clinton’s ties to Wall Street.

2:10: Hillary Clinton visited the set of Scandal:

2:05: Kasich campaign attacks Rubio’s perceived strengths:

1:59 pm – Kasich takes advantage of the Rubio CPAC flap:

According to Kasich strategist John Weaver, the Ohio governor has worked out a plan with ACU organizers to attend.

“Look forward to John Kasich at CPAC next Friday,” Weaver wrote on Twitter. “The only conservative running with a real record of accomplishment!” Weaver thanked ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp for the opportunity.

1:56 pm – Rubio targets Texas.

1:44 pm – Ben Carson GOES THERE: Obama was “raised white.”

“Remember now, I’ve been around for 64 years, you know,” Carson added. “I’ve had a chance to see what real racism is.”

1:36 pm – Cruz hammering Obama’s plan to close Gitmo.

1:34 pm – New York Times pens hit piece on Ted Cruz’s campaign manager Jeff Roe:

The attacks from Mr. Cruz’s Republican rivals have challenged his core campaign promises of integrity and conservative purity, cresting on Monday when he dismissed his communications director, Rick Tyler, for spreading a misleading video about Marco Rubio’s views on the Bible.

“There is a culture in the Cruz campaign, from top to bottom,” a Rubio spokesman said, “that no lie is too big and no trick too dirty.”

The episode threatened to tarnish Mr. Cruz’s brand. But not his campaign manager’s.

As Mr. Cruz has elbowed into the top tier of candidates, his campaign has conspicuously reflected the brand of its principal architect: Jeff Roe, an operative with a reputation for scorching earth, stretching truths and winning elections.

1:27 pm – Photo by Joel Pollak. Carson rally in Summerlin, NV:

1:22 pm – Cruz rally starting now.

1:18 pm – They mad.

1:07 pm – This should go well. “Telemundo: Thursday’s GOP Debate in Houston ‘To Specifically Address Latino issues’”

elemundo Network’s Director of Publicity and Talent Camilo Pino sent out a statement on Tuesday announcing Puerto Rican reporter Maria Celeste Arrarás will be a panelist at the debate “to specifically address Latino issues this primary cycle.”

12:59 pm – Photo: Adelle Nazarian.

12:58 pm – Kasich tells supporters: “I don’t know if my purpose is to be President.”

12:56 pm – The full memo from Kasich bashing Rubio. Note that the subject is about “ROI” (return on investment).

12:54 pm – Frank Luntz poll says young people like the Republican candidates less than the Democrats–yet Trump and Hillary are two points apart:

12:51 pm – Matthew Boyle reports that Marco Rubio won’t be attending CPAC this year.

The ACU said in a statement provided exclusively to Breitbart News:

Although, Marco Rubio has built a conservative record and has a high ACU rating, he and his campaign have made a rookie mistake. Today the Rubio campaign informed ACU’s chairman that their candidate is unwilling to make time to meet with activists and answer their questions at CPAC 2016.

12:46 pm – Huffington Post says Glenn Beck has told Ted Cruz crowds he owns George Washington’s copy of Don Quixote–but that is likely false.

12:34 pm – Ohio newspaper gives Kasich’s rationale for staying in the race to become the favored establishment candidate.

The Marco Rubio campaign touted big donors and endorsers including former presidential nominee Bob Dole and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The John Kasich team touted fewer new endorsements and billionaire backers, but countered with polling that showed the Ohio governor locked with Rubio in some upcoming primary states.

At stake: the title of the Republican establishment’s choice, tasked with taking on frontrunner Donald Trump.

The Rubio campaign argues their man has already earned the mantle with his better-than-expected second place in the South Carolina primary Saturday, which prompted Jeb Bush to abandon his presidential bid. Team Rubio’s sentiment: Kasich has no chance and should drop out, and soon.

The Kasich campaign argues no one has won the title yet. Only three states have voted, after all, and Kasich and Rubio are separated by only five delegates. Kasich will beat Rubio in more moderate states and will win Ohio March 15, Team Kasich says.

Still, the campaign is already staving off growing pressure to call it quits.

12:27 pm – “This piece is the first in an ongoing series of essays by women about Hillary Clinton.”

12:21 pm – Kasich with more bantz:

12:19 pm – Rubio at the press rope line, via Joel Pollak:

12:18 pm – Trump mocks:

12:13 pm – Whoa–Rubio won’t be in Nevada for the results tonight. Via Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering:

Sen. Marco Rubio doesn’t plan to be at his own campaign’s rally tonight after the results of the Nevada caucuses come in, according to his schedule.

12:11 pm – New numbers on Cruz’s Super PAC support from the Sunlight Foundation:

12:03 pm – Kasich focusing his fire on–Rubio!

11:58 am – Washington Post interviews a reporter who covers Trump on the campaign trail. While there’s bellyaching about mean Tweets, this is an interesting tidbit:

FIX: Does Trump treat the press corps any differently off camera than he does on camera?  Or does he still not interact with you at all — or very little?

Johnson: We have very little interaction with him on a daily basis, but we occasionally get close. The Donald Trump you see in a small setting — a visit to a campaign office, a quick interview backstage, a lunch stop — is a different person than the bellowing, insult-throwing candidate you see on the rally stage. In one-on-one settings, he’s charming, softer spoken and rather relatable. While his nasty, mean comments get the most attention, he’s also capable of being overwhelmingly kind, almost to the point of being uncomfortably kind. I’ve interviewed a number of people who have spent a little bit of time with Trump — big-name endorsers, dedicated volunteers, police officers assigned to protect him — and all remark on how he somehow made them feel like the most important person in the world.

11:56 am – Start of the line for Trump’s rally.

11:45 am – New from Rasmussen:

With Jeb Bush out, Donald Trump has widened his lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Voters finds Trump with 36% support, giving him a 15-point lead over Senator Marco Rubio who earns 21% of the vote. Senator Ted Cruz is in third place with 17%.

11:38 am – Koch Brothers’ top DC adviser joins Team Marco:

Short — president of Freedom Partners, the Kochs’ umbrella political organization — will join the campaign in about a week and brings deep connections to the donor and grass-roots worlds.

11:32 am – Rubio talks foreign policy, general election–and cracks some jokes.

11:26 am – Photos from Rubio’s Nevada rally by Daniel Nussbaum, Joel Pollak, and Adelle Nazarian. Continuing the “Benetton ad” theme:

10:41 am – The brilliant politics of Trump’s promise to prosecute Hillary as president

The politics here are genius. By making this very careful statement, Trump keeps the looming possibility of Hillary Clinton being indicted alive. Even if the Obama administration gives her a pass, as we all expect, Trump can drive the DC Media insane by keeping the indictment threat alive through the end of the general election.

Hillary’s media will be desperate to put this entire issue to bed after the Obama administration grants her absolution. Trump is not going to allow that to happen

The idea of the Clintons finally facing justice for their sins will also keep the base excited.

Once again, Trump is violating all of the DC Media’s rules that are set up to elect Democrats. Like Bill and Hillary’s sordid past with all of these women, Trump goes there and goes there and goes there.

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10:24 am – REMINDER: Nevada GOP caucus is tonight. GOP debate airs on CNN Thursday night. Super Tuesday is a week from today.

10;12 am – Trump tweets: Cruz “lies like a dog.”

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10:01 am – Left-wing Washington Post: “Donald Trump is on course to win the 1,237 delegates he needs to be the GOP nominee”

Presidential politics is, at its core, all about math. Nowhere is that more true than in the fight for delegates to this summer’s Republican National Convention. And, the delegate math is close to conclusive: Donald Trump will be extremely close to the 1,237 delegates he needs to formally claim the party’s nomination by the end of the primary process.

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9:52 am – Christie sells email list to Rubio

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie‘s now-suspended presidential campaign has sold its email list of supporters and donors to his former chief Republican rival Marco Rubio, the governor’s campaign spokesman confirmed Monday.

That means those who supported the governor are now getting messages from Rubio, who was Christie’s prime target during the New Hampshire primary. The first e-mail message went out Sunday afternoon.

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9:41 am – Trump pledges to prosecute Hillary as president

Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked Trump in front of a live Nevada audience if his attorney general would go after Clinton should an investigation find she broke the law while serving in the Obama administration.

“You have no choice,” Trump replied. “In fairness, you have to look into that.”

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9:31 – Trump leads nationally in latest NBC News poll.

A new NBC News/Survey Monkey poll finds Donald Trump still leading the GOP field nationally with 36%, followed by Ted Cruz at 19%, Marco Rubio at 16%, John Kasich at 8% and Ben Carson at 8%.

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9:24 – Trump rips Cruz as “disloyal” and “panicked.”

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9:13 am – Gallup: “Dishonest” and “Socialist” Lead U.S. Reactions to Dems

9:01 am – DC Media Loves Obama’s Violent Rhetoric, Freaks Over Trump’s ‘Punch’ Wish

8:48 am – College paper compares Trump and his supporters to Hitler.

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8:11 am – Latest polls out of Super Tuesday states.

Trump leads in 9 states. Cruz leads in two. Rubio leads in none.

Alabama: Trump up +21 in poll from August.

Alaska: Trump 28, Cruz 24,  Rubio 7, Kasich 2, Carson 9

Arkansas:  Cruz 27, Trump 23,  Rubio 23, Kasich 4, Carson 11

Georgia: Trump 32, Cruz 19, Rubio 23, Carson 8, Kasich 8

Massachusetts: Trump 50, Rubio 16, Cruz 10, Kasich 13, Carson 2

Minnesota: Trump 21,  Rubio 15, Cruz 14, Kasich 3, Carson 14

Oklahoma: Trump 33,  Cruz 25, Rubio 16, Carson 7, Kasich 0

Tennessee: Trump +4 in poll from November

Texas: Cruz 37, Trump 29, Rubio 15, Carson 4, Kasich 5

Vermont: Trump 32, Rubio 17, Cruz 11, Kasich 10, Carson 3

Virginia: Trump 28,  Rubio 22, Cruz 19, Carson 7, Kasich 7

Voting begins a week from today

7:58 am – Joe Scarborough declares, “The Ted Cruz campaign is over.”

On Tuesday morning, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough declared Cruz dead. After spreading false rumors about Marco Rubio and the Bible, Cruz’s national spokesman Rick Tyler was forced to resign Monday. It was a very bad day for the campaign, and one that fit perfectly in the Narrative Trump and Rubio have crafted to portray Cruz as dishonest. Whether or not this means Cruz is dead, we don’t know. That is up to the voters not pundits.

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7:55 am – Six states polled after South Carolina have Trump in double-digit leads.

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7:52 am – Spike Lee endorses Bernie Sanders

The Brooklyn-bred filmmaker endorsed the Democratic presidential hopeful Tuesday, releasing a radio ad for the Vermont senator’s campaign in South Carolina. …

“This is your dude, Spike Lee. And you know that I know that you know that the system is rigged! And for too long we’ve given our votes to corporate puppets. Sold the okie-doke. Ninety-nine percent of Americans were hurt by the Great Recession of 2008, and many are still recovering.”

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7:42 am – Trump is up +5 in John Kasich’s home state of Ohio. Kasich, the popular governor of Ohio, comes in second with 26%. Ted Cruz is in third with 21%. Marco Rubio is way behind with 13%. Ohio votes on Tuesday March 15, along with another handful of important states like Florida (Rubio’s home state), Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina.

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Kasich is close enough in Ohio to encourage him to hold through Super Tuesday and into March 15. Unlike Rubio, as of now, Kasich can at least win a big state. Despite all the coalescing of the Establishment around the Florida Senator, Rubio only leads in Minnesota does not lead in a single Super Tuesday state.

Kasich staying in the race complicates things for Rubio.

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7:33 am – Nevada caucuses tonight. Trump has led in every poll, ranging from +13 to +26 points.