That was early on when the conservative vote was split about ten ways.
After New Hampshire there were only six candidates.
Bush, Carson, Cruz, Kasich, Rubio and Trump.
Which ones were conservative?
Who was more conservative then Cruz?
It seems that the voters thought Trump was.
“the conservative vote was split”
Not many are taking that into account. After the close results in NC, even Trump said this was a two-man race.
In the south, the major portion of the evangelical vote was split at least 3 ways.