Trump is the weakest candidate in the field and gets the most votes

NY Times:

Solidifies Lead Over G.O.P. Rivals


Donald J. Trump’s victory puts him in a strong position heading into Southern state primaries on March 1.
In head to head matchups with Cruz and Rubio, Trump loses in a landslide to either of them.  He also loses in head to head matchups with Democrats while Cruz and Rubio win.  So I think it can be argued that he is still the weakest candidate the Republicans could put up and his vulnerabilities have yet to be challenged on a consistent basis.  So far Cruz has done the best job of taking him on and he needs to do more of that.

Rubio appears to be eeking out a second place finish at this point, but that is the best he could do with almost all of the state's political machine backing him.  Rubio also has weaknesses that can be exploited, particularly on his dishonest response to issues raised about how he and the Gang of Eight pushed an immigration bill through the Senate.

Jeb Bush has bowed to reality and is suspending his campaign.  He is a good man, but it was not his time.  He got off to a poor start by running against the base and the base rejected him.  Trump appears to be taking over running against the base of the party with his embrace of the individual mandate and his inconsistencies on abortion and immigration.

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