[Cincinatus' Wife]

"......Anyway, the factional nature of Trump's support reveals itself when you start looking at the overall vote totals and percentages. He's now at 31.9% of the popular vote, a strong lead by traditional standards but still a ways from the 45% level where frontrunners start to pull away, and the sooner the last two candidates stuck in single digits (Kasich and Carson) face reality, the sooner Rubio and/or Cruz can start consolidating the two-thirds of GOP voters who have yet to follow his flag:

Trump got crushed with the 37% of voters looking for a "shares my values" candidate (Cruz-Rubio-Trump 37-27-8), and the 15% who wanted a "win in November" candidate (Rubio-Trump-Cruz 47-21-17), so those are the pitches that are working best against him (note that this is a much better result on 'electability' for Rubio than in New Hampshire or Iowa); where both Cruz and Rubio need to work at Trump is the 31% of "can bring needed change" voters, who went 45-19-16 Trump-Cruz-Rubio.

While Trump's win looks big, it's actually the second-smallest margin of victory ever in the South Carolina Republican primary (to McCain in 2008) and the smallest percentage of the vote for a winner, and Trump got fewer actual votes than Newt Gingrich did in 2012 or McCain in a losing effort in 2000:".............................. Source

[patq]

So in other words, Cruz is losing and will continue to do so. I agree.

[Mouton]

“wanted a “win in November” candidate (Rubio-Trump-Cruz 47-21-17)”

Obviously they did not sample me.

[pgkdan]

strong lead by traditional standards but still a ways from the 45% level where frontrunners start to pull away,

Funny...45% is where Trump sits in NV and he's over 50% in FL.

From your chart below I see that Trump's gotten 31.9% of the vote so far. Oh No! That means that 68.1% don't support him! But with Cruz's 20.6% that means 79.4% don't support Cruz! HAHAHAHA!

the sooner Rubio and/or Cruz can start consolidating the two-thirds of GOP voters who have yet to follow his flag:

More delusional thinking. Cruz is a dead man walking and he won't consolidate anything. His ZERO delegate finish on Saturday finished his campaign and probably his political future. And once Trump starts hitting Rubio with the Gang of Eight fiasco he's finished too.

You need to get your head around President Trump. It's going to happen.