On the day he is expected to win all five
states holding Republican presidential
primaries, Donald Trump reached 50 percent
support nationally from Republican or
Republican-leaning voters, said NBC News/
Survey Monkey, which began its weekly
election tracking poll in December.
Trump’s challengers — Texas Senator Ted
Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich — lost
ground in the survey, finishing double-digits
behind the party front-runner, the poll found.
His support has remained consistent in the
poll, hovering in the 40 percent range,
especially among independents who lean
toward Republicans. What’s significant is his
support among Republicans saw a six-point
increase in the latest poll, conducted online,
from April 18-24, of 10,707 adults aged 18
and over, and including 9,405 registered
voters.

Trump needs to win a majority of the
delegates Tuesday to help in his quest to
clinch the Republican Party’s nomination.
The voting in Connecticut, Delaware,
Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island also
follows an announcement by Trump’s
remaining rivals that they are strategically
campaigning in a bid to block him from
earning a delegate majority.
Trump called the effort by Cruz and Kasich
“pathetic” and used his appearances Monday
to reiterate his criticisms of the nomination
process.
He has accused the Republican Party of
treating him unfairly, and said Monday the
system is “rigged.”
The plan by Cruz and Kasich to stop Trump is
aimed primarily at voting a week from
Tuesday in the state of Indiana, where Kasich
is supposed to avoid campaigning in order to
give Cruz a better shot at defeating Trump.
Voting in Tuesday’s primary takes place at
Watkins Mill Elementary School in
Montgomery Village, Maryland, April 26, 2016.
Voting in Tuesday’s primary takes place at
Watkins Mill Elementary School in
Montgomery Village, Maryland, April 26, 2016.
Some voters appeared turned off by the pact
as well.
In Indiana, Kathy Hiel said she hadn’t made
up her mind to vote for Trump until late
Sunday’s announcement by his rivals. “I’ll
have to support him now,” she said of the
front-runner.
In Oregon City, Oregon, Craig Herman said the
agreement “doesn’t bother me at all,” adding,
“it’s all theater. … I think they all do this for
drama and put out press releases.”
But despite their announcement, the plan may
be easier in theory than in practice, and
Kasich said later Monday that even though he
will back off campaigning in Indiana, he still
wants his supporters to vote for him.
Democratic presidential candidate former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets
supporters during a primary election night
gathering on April 19, 2016 in New York City
Democratic presidential candidate former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets
supporters during a primary election night
gathering on April 19, 2016 in New York City
Trump came into Tuesday with 845 delegates,
followed by Cruz with 559. Kasich had 148,
trailing even Florida Senator Marco Rubio,
who dropped out of the race in mid-March
but has 171 delegates.
As has been the case throughout the
nominating process, the margin of Tuesday’s
voting will be important because the more
delegates Trump earns the better his chance
of reaching the 1,237 he needs. If he fails to
hit that threshold, Cruz and Kasich could have
a shot at the nomination at the party’s
convention in July.
Democratic race
In the Democratic race, former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton led polls in four of the
five states voting Tuesday, with Vermont
Senator Bernie Sanders ahead only in Rhode
Island.
A strong showing Tuesday for Clinton would
move her to within striking distance of the
Democratic nomination. She entered the day
with 1,944 delegates, including hundreds of
super delegates who have pledged to support
her.
The five states voting Tuesday have 463
delegates at stake, and another 285 are
available during the next month, meaning
Clinton needs to win just over half of them to
reach a majority 2,383.
Democratic presidential candidate Verm