After a sub par performance in five GOP contests last weekend, Donald Trump returned to the Republican race for President with a vengeance on Tuesday, winning three states and getting almost half of the Republican delegates by taking Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii.
"This was an amazing evening," Trump told supporters in Florida.
Let's take a quick look at the GOP race and where we go from here:
DONALD TRUMP - This was exactly the night that Donald Trump needed. After giving hope to those who want to stop him from getting the Republican nomination, Trump not only rolled up three victories but also did well in delegates, getting 73 of the 150 delegates at stake. The results will certainly provide him fresh momentum going into a crucial round of March 15 primaries, giving Trump the possible opportunity to put himself on the road to being the GOP nominee. "There is only one person who had a good night," Trump said. And he was absolutely right.
TED CRUZ - Other than Trump, only Ted Cruz could really crow about his results across the board on March 8. Cruz finished second in Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii, and won going away in Idaho. Cruz won 59 delegates, netting fourteen fewer delegates than Trump - that didn't quite erase the Cruz +16 of the previous weekend, but it wasn't really the result the Texas Senator was looking for in this race. Cruz can certainly make the argument now that he is the only Republican who can consistently win against Trump. He'll get another shot next week.
JOHN KASICH - As I had seen on the ground in Michigan, there was a surge for Kasich, but not enough to get him into second place in that state, as Ted Cruz narrowly edged Kasich for that spot. And that result sort of took the luster off the Kasich effort overall. The Ohio Governor will now try to take some of that Michigan momentum back to his home state, where it is do or die for him on March 15. Kasich netted 17 delegates - all of them from one state, as he remains far behind Donald Trump.
MARCO RUBIO - Rubio did have the worst night overall - as he received one delegate in Hawaii - but it shouldn't have been a surprise. One would think that some Rubio people shifted their support to either Cruz or Kasich in Michigan and maybe to Cruz in Mississippi. Yes, Rubio can still talk about defeating Trump in Florida, but momentum is so important in this race - and voters can sense who is doing well, and who is about to be cast aside. Things started going sideways for Rubio on Super Tuesday, and he has not been able to right the ship yet.
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