WASHINGTON (AFP) -
US
presidential primaries spark back to life Tuesday after an eventful
10-day break with clear frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton
both facing the real possibility of losing in Wisconsin.
Defeat in
the north-central state isn't likely to immediately change the course
of the overall nominating contest, but it could serve as an indicator of
the race's current status ahead of the New York primary on April 19,
where polls show both in the lead.
It's been a bumpy period for Trump, the Republican billionaire from New York.
Although
his campaign has seemed bulletproof up until now, his latest
controversies -- including abortion, opponent Ted Cruz's wife and a
journalist who said she was roughed up by Trump's campaign manager --
have alienated women voters further, polls indicate.
His divisive
style is also under scrutiny, and the real estate magnate had a surprise
meeting with Republican party chief Reince Priebus in Washington on
Thursday amid rumblings that the party would fracture if he were to win
the nomination.
With polls for the Wisconsin Republican primary
showing the ultraconservative Cruz holding a 10-point lead, Trump has
launched a series of events in the heartland state to rally support.
Moderate John Kasich, the Ohio governor, is polling third and last.
Campaigning
in Wisconsin on Saturday accompanied by Sarah Palin, Trump attacked
Cruz for failing to report a loan from Goldman Sachs, his wife's
employer.
"They want me to act presidential, they don?t want me to
call him Lyin' Ted, okay? Lyin? Ted," he told supporters in Racine, to
cheers.
"No, my wife actually said: No, you?re with Sarah today, you have to act very presidential."
The
winner of Tuesday's Republican primary will take most of the 42
delegates on offer. If Cruz wins, he will certainly claim it as a
turning point in the race, but mathematically speaking he will struggle
to overcome his overall delegate deficit.
Currently, Trump has 739, Cruz 460 and Kasich 145. To win the Republican nomination outright, a candidate needs 1,237.
In
North Dakota, Republican activists gather this weekend at a state
convention to select 25 of the state's 28 delegates, but unlike those
from most other states, they won't be bound to a particular candidate at
the party's convention in July.
The other three are RNC members who are automatic delegates.
- Angry Clinton -
For
Clinton, a loss in Wisconsin would be more symbolic than anything else,
as the state distributes delegates proportionally according to the
primary results.
But she comes into the contest having lost five
of the last six states to Bernie Sanders, and polls show him finishing
on top in Wisconsin.
The Vermont senator has already notched
victories in two neighboring states, Minnesota and Michigan, and his
popularity is undeniable in Wisconsin cities like Madison, which have a
high concentration of university students.
Sanders, who has
energized young Democrats, is trying to dispel the notion that Clinton
is a better candidate for defeating Trump in the general election in
November.
"In the last national CNN poll we beat Trump by 20
points and that's before we really begin to expose what a nutcase he
really is," Sanders told supporters Friday in Sheboygan.
With the momentum in Sanders' camp, tensions are starting to rise between him and Clinton.
The
former US top diplomat showed a rare flash of anger on Thursday when a
Greenpeace activist asked her if she would reject campaign contributions
linked to the oil and gas industries.
Clinton, who was shaking
hands along a rope line, responded sharply: "I am so sick -- I am so
sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me, I'm sick of it," jabbing
her finger at the young woman in a video that went viral.
While
Clinton acknowledged receiving donations from people who work for such
companies, the oil and gas companies themselves are not permitted to
contribute to candidates.
Spotting an opening, Sanders said in Eau
Claire, another Wisconsin city, on Saturday: "When you have a handful
of billionaires trying to buy elections, that's not called democracy,
that's called oligarchy."
Despite his recent successes Sanders is still trailing in the race for delegates.
Clinton
has 1,259 compared to his 1,020, according to a CNN tally. The former
first lady benefits from the critical support of nearly 500
"superdelegates," elected officials and Democratic Party leaders who
cast votes at the party's convention in July.
To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate needs 2,383 delegates.
by Ivan Couronne
© 2016 AFP
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