Presidential candidates have primaries in two more states this week before turning their full attention to the hundreds of delegates up for grabs on the March 1 Super Tuesday primaries, but what's at stake in the Texas primaries?
Republicans head to Nevada tomorrow. Then, their thoughts and money turn to the South.
Texas Sen.Ted Cruz had hoped South Carolina would be the state that cemented his place as a front-runner after winning the Iowa caucuses.
But after two straight third-place finishes, the conservative firebrand needs a win in Texas to show he still has a shot at winning the nomination. Cruz averages about a seven-point lead over Donald Trump in the three polls taken so far in Texas.
But, you can basically ignore those polls—six candidates in those polls aren’t even in the running anymore. Anything less than a win in Texas would be very bad news for the Cruz campaign.
On the Democratic side, Texas is just one part of a possible big day for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
She holds a 23-point lead in Texas, according to a poll released last week, but a Texas win isn't guaranteed.
While Clinton celebrated her Nevada win – her first outright victory in the primary season – over the weekend at Texas Southern University in Houston, she told the crowd of 2,000 that she'll have to "work hard for the Texas primary," according to the Texas Tribune.
Still, she holds large double-digit leads in every single state up on March 1 except Vermont, which favors Sanders, the home state senator, by a 76-point margin.
