Ted Cruz was losing power.
With his plan towards grasping the GOP nomination quickly unraveling in recent weeks, the Texas-bred senator’s path became less and less inviting, and last night [Tuesday, May 3] he stepped down, hand-delivering the nomination to Donald Trump.
Following an overwhelming defeat in Indiana’s Republican primary on Tuesday, the once confident conservative, set on turning out the evangelical vote and doing away with eight years of what he considers a failed Democratic presidency, confirmed the news that had already found itself floating around the Internet.
It was an interesting end to the campaign that was once slated as the only viable choice for the Republican nomination preceding the Trump dominated election this year; an end mostly due to the fact the Cruz campaign couldn’t seem to move past its initial success.
Now, the nation faces another puzzling reality: Donald Trump as the GOP nominee, and quite possibly, President of the United States.
The man who once proposed a temporary ban of all Muslims entering the US, publicly made use of misogynist remarks against female critics and opponents, and has made controversial statements against American minorities, especially the Latino community, could very well see himself in the White House.
Donald Trump’s success is directly attributed to his introduction of boastful comments on American issues, specifically trade and American security, rallying disillusioned members of the party searching for an unconventional alternative to their Republican leaders.
But, aside from obvious implications on the Right, the Democratic Party stands to gain a lot from a Cruz withdrawal.
As the race is clearly Donald Trump’s with not much hope for the remaining opponent and recent ally of Cruz, John Kasich, media attention will likely switch over to the Democratic race, and quickly. With 45 days remaining, all eyes will be settled on seeing how and where Bernie Sanders will pull out another surprise.
While logic says that Bernie Sanders is at a mathematical disadvantage, it will be interesting to see where potential Trump voters might go. Trump’s anti-establishment and outsider voters may see more of a reason to flock to polls for progressive liberal Sanders in states where voters outside of the party can cast a ballot.
Bernie Sanders is likely to take advantage of the fact Hillary Clinton will now have to deal with two opponents at once. With many labeling Clinton as the inevitable candidate, Donald Trump is sure to begin to attack his probable opponent, and hard.
Just as it stands with every passing day in the presidential election, things remain a bit unclear. For the Republicans, Ted Cruz has clearly opened up a path for what will come of the GOP election, but in the same instance, he has furthered blurred the end of the Democratic race, quite possibly leaving room for many more surprises to come.
