Cruz win in Wisconsin leaves Trump damaged front-runner
NEW YORK (AP) — Republican Donald Trump emerged from Wisconsin as a damaged front-runner following a crushing loss to rival Ted Cruz, deepening questions about the billionaire businessman's presidential qualifications and pushing the GOP toward a rare contested convention fight.
Exit polls in Wisconsin highlighted the deep worries about Trump surging through some corners of the Republican Party.
A majority of GOP voters said they're either concerned about or scared of a potential Trump presidency, according to surveys conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
A Texas senator with a complicated relationship with Republican leaders, Cruz cast his Wisconsin victory as a "turning point" in the race and urged the party to rally around his candidacy.
Sanders still trails Clinton in the pledged delegate count and has so far been unable to persuade superdelegates— the party officials who can back any candidate — to drop their allegiance to the former secretary of state and back his campaign.
The Ohio governor's only victory has come in his home state, but he's still picking up delegates that would otherwise help Trump inch closer to the nomination or help Cruz catch up.
Despite the concern among some Wisconsin Republicans about Trump becoming president, nearly 6 in 10 GOP voters there said the party should nominate the candidate with the most support in the primaries, which so far would be Trump.