Ted Cruz facing big questions after last-place finish in New York primary

Ted Cruz finished last in the New York Republican primary, a bad sign for the Texas senator.

(Getty Images)

While Donald Trump ran away with his home state and handily won the New York Republican presidential primary, John Kasich beat out Ted Cruz for silver in the state, raising questions about how the senator from Texas will fare in the coming primaries.

Mr Trump claimed about 60 per cent of the vote to win New York, as was widely expected -- and badly needed after a string of losses for the Republican front-runner. Mr Kasich took more than 20 per cent of the vote and Mr Cruz received less than 15 per cent, with more than three quarters of the vote counted..

Preliminary polls had predicted that New York would be tough for Mr Cruz, especially in a race featuring one of the state's most visible residents in Mr Trump. But coming last in the Republican field does not bode well for Mr Cruz, as many upcoming primaries could look quite similar to New York. For his part, Mr Cruz did not seem too concerned about his struggles in the Empire State, though he was in Philadelphia when polls closed.

On April 26, voters in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island will head to the polls in their respective primaries, with 118 delegates up for grabs in the conservative contest. Republicans in those states are expected to vote more like those in New York did, as opposed to how those in Iowa did. Mr Cruz won in Iowa after denouncing Mr Trump's "New York values."

Preliminary polls from Real Clear Politics show Mr Cruz struggling in Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Mr Trump is leading in each of those states. Those polls also show Mr Cruz and Mr Kasich battling for second and third place in upcoming states.

If Mr Kasich outperforms Mr Cruz in next week's primaries, it will be hard for the Cruz campaign to continue to demand that the Ohio governor withdraw from the race, as it has been doing in recent weeks. Before the New York results were released, Mr Cruz's campaign manager called Mr Kasich "insufferable".

But with Mr Kasich beating Mr Cruz in New York, and possibly doing the same in upcoming races, he likely will be insufferable for Mr Cruz for a while longer.

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