With NV win, Trump has trifecta; Rubio-Cruz still jostling

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With a big win in Nevada, Donald Trump claimed a third straight commanding victory in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

With victories now under his belt in the West, the South and Northeast, a gleeful Trump was oozing even more confidence than usual Tuesday night that the GOP nomination is within reach.

Rubio, who was already in Michigan on caucus night, didn't speak after the results came in but earlier sought to project confidence that he can consolidate the non-Trump voters who have been splintering among an assortment of GOP candidates, saying, "We have incredible room to grow."

Cruz, a fiery conservative popular among voters on the GOP's right, had finished a disappointing third in South Carolina after spending much of the past two weeks denying charges of dishonest campaign tactics and defending his integrity.

Trump, in his victory speech, took on the notion advanced by both Rubio and Cruz that if more GOP candidates drop out of the race, they'll coalesce around an alternative.

Preliminary results of the entrance poll found that about 3 in 10 early caucus goers said the quality that mattered most to them in choosing a candidate was that he shares their values, slightly more than the quarter who said they want a candidate who can win in November.

The entrance poll survey was conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Research as Republican voters arrived at 25 randomly selected caucus sites in Nevada.