NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Brace yourself: This is going to be an all-out brawl

By Chris Cillizza analysis
Washington Post·
4 May, 2016 02:35 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, won Indiana. Photo / AP

Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, won Indiana. Photo / AP

Donald Trump crushed the competition in Indiana's primary, sealing his stranglehold on the Republican nomination. Bernie Sanders eked out a win over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race, a victory for the underdog but one that will do little to change his delegate deficit to the former Secretary of State.

WINNERS

Donald Trump

For the seventh time in the last 21 days, the real estate mogul dominated a primary race. His win in Indiana, like past victories in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and elsewhere, was complete - spreading across virtually every demographic group. Because of the sweeping nature of that win, Trump was projected to win all 57 Indiana Republican delegates - making his path to 1237 delegates far easier. Ted Cruz's decision to leave the race following the Indiana result was a recognition that the maths simply stopped adding up for anyone other than Trump after today.

Trump's victory is now complete. Beginning as a punchline - and an asterisk in polling - Trump beat the most crowded (and one of the deepest and most accomplished) Republican fields in modern presidential history. A first time candidate, he systematically dismantled Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Marco Rubio - to name just a few. And, even amid the relentless media coverage of whether Trump had peaked or whether his moment had passed, he led the race virtually wire to wire. He won in the Midwest, the West, the South and the East. He won among very conservative voters and moderate voters. He won and won and won.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Trump starts the general election - and it starts, effectively, tomorrow - as a decided underdog to Clinton.

But, take nothing away from what Trump has accomplished in this Republican primary. It is, simply put, the single most amazing thing I have seen in my 18 years of covering politics.

Bernie Sanders

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Vermont senator needed a win in Indiana to fight back against the creeping narrative - disappointing fundraising, staff layoffs - that he was running out of time in this race. He got it. Which he deserves credit for. And, he won the groups - young voters, white voters, liberals - where he has shown considerable strength throughout the race. The Indiana win reinforces, again, that Sanders can - and should - stay in the race all the way through to the June 8 votes.

But, as always, the maths is the maths. Delegate projections suggest that Sanders will net three delegates out of Indiana, which is simply not enough for him to catch or even come close to catching Clinton.

LOSERS

Ted Cruz

Discover more

World

What will Trump be like as Republican nominee?

04 May 05:00 PM

The Texas Republican made Indiana a do-or-die state. And, he didn't "do." You could sense the desperation from Cruz and his senior campaign team in the run-up to the Indiana vote. From the announcement of an alliance with John Kasich, which quickly fizzled, to his decision to name Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate, it seemed obvious that Cruz was literally throwing things at a wall in hopes one might stick. None did.

Recognising that he wasn't going to win, Cruz got out. His political future - Cruz is only 45 - weighed heavily on that calculation. Cruz wanted to preserve his status as a top tier candidate heading into the 2020 election (assuming Clinton beats Trump) and clearly believed that leaving the race as soon as Indiana voted was the right time.

Now the only question is when - and if - Cruz endorses Trump. That, too, will be entirely dependent on how Cruz thinks it will impact upon his positioning for 2020.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lost Indiana but is on course for the Democratic nomination. Photo / AP
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lost Indiana but is on course for the Democratic nomination. Photo / AP

Hillary Clinton

Clinton is - still - going to be the Democratic presidential nominee. But, losing Indiana could well be the start of a bad run of states for Clinton - Nebraska, Washington, Oregon are all coming up - that will not allow her to finish the primary race in a final, dominating sprint.

And she will still have to deal with Sanders' attacks from the left even while having to counter the Trump fusillade that will be headed in her direction. That's a tough challenge and one the Clinton campaign would have very much liked to have avoided. Indiana ensured she won't get that wish.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Stop Trump effort

You can't beat someone with no one. That's the lesson the folks hoping to stop Trump have learned (or re-learned) over the past six weeks or so. While there was - and is - a not-insignificant group of Republicans who wanted anyone other than Trump, Cruz was simply not an appealing enough alternative. Many Republicans are scared of what Trump might do as the GOP nominee. But they viscerally hate Cruz and simply could not bring themselves to be for him. Given that simple calculus, all of the efforts - and money - that went into stopping Trump never really had a chance at succeeding. That reality was driven home in a final, ringing way in Indiana.

Lovers of positive campaigns

Clinton versus Trump is going to be the nastiest general election in modern presidential history. Period.

Trump has already proven - over and over again - that he is willing to get personal in his attacks against Republicans. Can you imagine him dialing it back against Clinton - the Democrat that Republicans love most to hate? No chance.

Clinton, too, has shown not just a willingness to attack her opponent's vulnerabilities but a relishing of the back and forth. Trump is an opposition researcher's dream although it remains to be seen whether Clinton can land more punches on Trump than the 16 Republican candidates did.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Brace yourself: This is going to be an all-out brawl.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

11 Jul 07:51 AM
World

Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

11 Jul 06:36 AM
World

US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

11 Jul 04:40 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

11 Jul 07:51 AM

The family tried to portray the murder as a suicide in Rawalpindi.

Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

11 Jul 06:36 AM
US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

11 Jul 04:40 AM
Trump hits Canada with new tariff threat

Trump hits Canada with new tariff threat

11 Jul 04:40 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP