Donald Trump wins Indiana GOP primary; Ted Cruz drops out - live blog
9:32 p.m. Trump, too, took the high road when discussing Cruz in his post-election party at Trump Tower in New York. Rather than referring to him as "Lyin' Ted," which has been a frequent refrain from Trump in recent weeks, Trump called Cruz a "tough, smart guy" who has an "amazing future" in GOP politics.
- CBS News Election Center
- Ted Cruz drops out of presidential race after Indiana loss
- Bernie Sanders wins Indiana primary in an upset
- Indiana Democratic results
- Indiana Republican results
- Indiana Democratic exit poll
- Indiana Republican exit poll
"Just so you understand, Ted Cruz, I don't know if he likes me or doesn't like me, but he is one hell of a competitor," Trump said. "He is a tough, smart guy--and he has got an amazing future. He's got an amazing future, so I want to congratulate Ted.
"I know how tough it is, it's tough," he continued. "I've had some moments where it was not looking so good and it's not a great feeling and so I understand how Ted feels and Heidi and their whole beautiful family."
9:02 p.m. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus acknowledged, via Twitter, that Trump is the presumptive nominee:
8:51 p.m. Kasich tweeted to praise Cruz, saying he "should be proud" of the campaign he ran:
8:36 p.m. Ted Cruz ends his presidential candidacy. "I'm sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed. Together we left it all on the field in Indiana...the voters chose another path. And so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism, for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign. But hear me now, I am not suspending our fight for liberty."
- What to watch for in the Indiana primaries
- How to watch the Indiana primaries
- Live updates: Indiana Democratic primary
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ended his campaign for the Republican nomination Tuesday night, effectively ensuring Donald Trump will become the GOP's standard-bearer in 2016.
Cruz conceded the race at an event in Indianapolis following the results of Tuesday's Indiana primary, which Trump won handily. CBS News called the race for Trump right at 7 p.m., when the polls closed; with 59 percent of precincts reporting in Indiana, Trump led Cruz by 16 points, 53 percent to 37 percent.
The Texas senator had focused heavily on the Hoosier State following loses to Trump in the five Northeastern primaries last week. He spent a great deal of time campaigning across the state, touted an endorsement from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, and sought to energize his campaign by announcing former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his running mate.
But ultimately, Cruz got the two-man race against Trump he'd been wanting all along--and he still lost. With Trump winning the majority of delegates out of Indiana, he is on the path to reach 1,237 delegates by the end of voting in June.
7:35 p.m. Our Principles PAC, the anti-Trump super PAC that put more than $2 million in ad dollars into Indiana, released a statement from chair Katie Packer that is far from conceding defeat:
"While tonight's Indiana primary results increased Donald Trump's delegate count, Trump remains short of the 1,237 delegates needed to win the GOP nomination," she said. "A substantial number of delegates remain up for grabs in this highly unpredictable year."
Packer blasted Trump's "absurd tabloid lies," including his assertion that Cruz's father was somehow involved in the assassination of President Kennedy.
"We continue to give voice to the belief of so many Republicans that Trump is not a conservative, does not represent the values of the Republican Party, cannot beat Hillary Clinton, and is simply unfit to be President of the United States," she continued.
7:23 p.m. Following the call in Indiana, Kasich's campaign manager John Weaver issued a statement saying the governor's strategy won't change:
"Tonight's results are not going to alter Gov. Kasich's campaign plans. Our strategy has been and continues to be one that involves winning the nomination at an open convention," he said. "The comments from Trump, on the verge of winning Indiana, heighten the differences between Gov. Kasich and his positive, inclusive approach and the disrespectful ramblings from Donald Trump."
7:08 p.m. Trump tweeted shortly after the Indiana race was called in his favor, saying Cruz went "wacko":
7:06 p.m. With fresh exit polling out, here's a look at how Trump pulled together his victory in Indiana:
Trump is getting the support of men, with over half of Indiana Republican primary voters supporting him. Women are more evenly split between Trump (46 percent) and Cruz (42 percent).
Trump does well with independents, garnering support from over half of those voters. Among the 58 percent of Indiana Republican primary voters who say they would like the next president to be an outsider, 76 percent support Trump.
Trump and Cruz are running about even with white evangelical voters (Cruz 45 percent, Trump 48 percent) -- who make up more than half of the Indiana Republican voters.
Among the 32 percent of voters who describe themselves as "very conservative," Cruz gets the support of over half of them. Cruz also gets the majority of support from Republican Indiana primary voters who attend religious services at least weekly which is about half of the voters.
For the half of Indiana voters without a college degree, the majority support Trump. The contest is tighter among college graduates (45 percent for Trump, 41 percent for Cruz).
"Sharing values" is the candidate quality that mattered most to Republican primary voters, closely followed by a candidate who can bring needed change. Cruz wins those looking for someone who shares their values (66 percent), and Trump gets the support of those who want a candidate who will bring needed change (63 percent). About twenty percent of voters want someone who tells it like it is, and among those voters almost 9 out of 10 support Trump.
Republican voters who decided on their candidate recently are more likely to be backing Cruz. Among the third of Republican Indiana Primary voters who decided in the last week, almost half supported Cruz.
Among the Republican Indiana primary voters who said that their vote was against their candidate's opponents, 51 percent support Cruz and 34 percent support Trump.
Of the third of Indiana Republican primary voters who believe that the process for selecting a Republican presidential nominee this year has been unfair, 60 percent support Trump.
7:00 p.m. The polls are now closed in Indiana, and CBS News projects that Donald Trump wins the state.
6:53 p.m. In the hour leading up to polls closing in Indiana, Google Trends notes that Trump has gotten almost two-thirds of the search traffic on the GOP side:
6:42 p.m. And here's even more from the exit polls, with about 20 minutes to go:
If no candidate gets a majority of delegates ahead of the convention, about 65 percent of Indiana Republican primary voters say the candidate with the most votes should be the nominee, while 31 percent think the one the delegates think would be the best candidate should be the nominee.
The majority of Indiana Republican primary voters think the process for selecting a GOP nominee this year has been fair (63 percent), while a third don't think it has been.
When asked who ran the most unfair campaign, 42 percent of Indiana Republican voters think Cruz has run the most unfair campaign, but almost as many say Trump has (38 percent).
6:02 p.m. Polls are now closed across parts of Indiana; the rest will close at 7 p.m. ET. Here's some more information from the early exit polls:
Almost 40 percent of Indiana Republican primary voters said that the economy and jobs are the top issue facing the country. Over a quarter (28 percent) feel that the most important issue is government spending.
Sharing values is the candidate quality that mattered most to Indiana Republican primary voters (34 percent), closely followed by a candidate who can bring needed change (32 percent).
The majority (57 percent) of Indiana Republican primary voters say this year's campaign has divided the Republican party rather than energized it.
5:19 p.m. From the early exits, here's a look at the top issues for Indiana GOP voters:
5:12 p.m. It's reckoning day for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and the broader anti-Donald Trump forces, which have put a great deal of time and energy into stopping Trump in Indiana. Whether Trump is able to pull out a victory here, after a string of wins in New York and across five Northeastern states last week, will help determine whether he can collect the 1,237 delegates he'd need to win the nomination outright.
Early exit polling data finds a majority of Indiana GOP primary voters are angry or dissatisfied with the federal government: 34 percent said they were "angry" and 50 percent said they were "dissatisfied." (Only 14 percent said they were "satisfied" with their government.)
And outsider status is important to Indiana's voters: 59 percent said they want the next president to "be outside politics," compared with 36 percent said it was more important to "have political experience." More than half of GOP voters, 53 percent, said they felt "betrayed" by the Republican Party.
Polls close at 6 p.m. ET in most of the state, and 7 p.m. ET in parts of the state that are in the Central time zone.
Fifty-seven delegates are at stake in Indiana, with the lion's share going to the winner of the statewide vote: 30 of the 57 go to whoever wins the primary, while the remaining 27 are allocated based on the state's nine congressional districts. (It's also an open primary, meaning independents can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary.)
Polling in the race gives Trump an advantage heading into today's contest. A CBS News Battleground Tracker poll out last week found him in the lead with 40 percent, followed by Cruz at 35 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 20 percent. Other recent polling has given Trump an even larger advantage.
According to CBS News' latest count, Trump has 995 delegates, Cruz has 562 and Kasich has 152.
Follow here for live updates throughout the night.
CBS News Poll Analyst Melissa Herrmann and CBS News' Sopan Deb contributed to this story.
