Republican Donald Trump notched his third win in a row Tuesday with a victory in Nevada's GOP caucuses, giving him another shot of momentum a week before voters in Georgia and a dozen other states cast their ballots.
The networks and the Associated Press called the race for the billionaire shortly after the low-turnout – and highly chaotic - caucuses closed.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio set up expansive campaigns in the state, but were both overshadowed by Trump. With the victory, the frontrunner proves again he can compete in GOP votes across the nation.
He finished second in Iowa's caucus, with its largely evangelical GOP voter base, and he cruised to big victories in moderate New Hampshire and culturally conservative South Carolina. Now, he can add libertarian-minded Nevada to the list.
In his victory speech, he suggested he could secure the nomination soon.
"We might not even need the two months, to be honest," Trump said.
Trump's finish may have been most damaging for Cruz, who fired his top spokesman Monday for spreading a video that misrepresented comments Rubio made about the Bible. The fiery conservative, who won Iowa's caucus, now faces renewed questions about his viability after finishing third in both South Carolina and Nevada.
It raises the stakes for Cruz in Georgia and the sweep of other Southern states that vote next week. Cruz has called the South his "firewall" and has put the so-called SEC primary at the center of his campaign strategy.
"One week from today will be the most important night of this campaign," Cruz said after his finish.
But he faces a growing challenge in the South from Rubio, who is trying to emerge as the alternative to Trump and Cruz.
Rubio has bested Cruz in the last two contests, and a WSB-TV poll released Monday showed him in second place in Georgia, with 23 percent, behind Trump. The survey had Cruz at 19 percent. Rubio also is eyeing more moderate states like Minnesota and Michigan, where his campaign believes a win is possible.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, meanwhile, bypassed the contest. He spent the day appealing to Georgia voters with events in Atlanta, Kennesaw and Sandy Springs.
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