Primary 2016: Trump is winner; Cruz quits race
UPDATE 10:54 p.m.
IndyStar's full story on Trey Hollingsworth's victory in the ninth congressional district's Republican primary. There are quotes from Democrats about the race in November.
UPDATE 10:32 p.m.
An online discussion among New York Times reporters included this comment about Trump: "He is the most unconventional nominee since, well, maybe Wendell Willkie in 1940, so the reality of what he is about to encounter will be something to behold — and to report on!"
UPDATE 10:26 p.m.
The Washington Post's winners and losers from the Indiana primary puts Hillary Clinton and Gov. Mike Pence among the losers.
UPDATE 10:16 p.m.
The Associated Press projected Trey Hollingsworth as winner in the Republican primary in the ninth congressional district. Opponents had mocked Hollingsworth as "Tennessee Trey," a rich carpetbagger who had only recently moved to Indiana.
Here is IndyStar's in-depth story on Hollingsworth from last week.
Hollingsworth will face Democrat Shelli Yoder, a Monroe County councilwoman and former Miss Indiana, in November.
UPDATE 10:05 p.m.
Matt Tully of IndyStar says Trump could win in November: "I certainly am not predicting a Trump presidency. What I am saying is that anyone who dismisses that possibility is underestimating his campaign. And few things are better for a politician than being underestimated."
UPDATE 9:57 p.m.
The New York Times posted an early analysis of a Trump-Clinton match for president of the U.S.
UPDATE 9:53 p.m.
Bernie Sanders to supporters tonight: "I understand that Secretary Clinton thinks that this campaign is over. I’ve got some bad news for her.”
UPDATE 9:46 p.m.
Bernie Sanders is expected to give a victory speech in New Albany later tonight, according to the News and Tribune of southern Indiana.
UPDATE 9:40 p.m.
Gov. Mike Pence had endorsed Ted Cruz against Donald Trump, who won resoundingly.
UPDATE 9:37 p.m.
Trump took a much softer tone than usual in his speech.
"We're going to love each other and cherish each other and take care of each other," he said. "...We have to bring unity to the Republican party."
Trump ended his speech by saying, "You will be so proud of this country very very soon."
UPDATE 9:26 p.m.
Trump told supporters, "We're going after Hillary Clinton."
Then he tried to mend a deep rift with Ted Cruz, who dropped out of the race earlier Tuesday night. Trump had repeatedly referred to Cruz as Lyin' Ted.
"I have met some of the incredible competitors I have ever competed against, right here in the Republican party," Trump said. "Just so you understand, Ted Cruz — I don't know if he likes me or doesn't like me — but he is one helluva competitor."
Trump said Cruz has a "lovely family."
UPDATE 9:18 p.m.
Donald Trump, speaking to supporters in New York, thanked voters in Indiana for a huge victory in the Republican presidential primary.
"Toward the end, I didn't want to leave," Trump said of his time in the state.
Trump thanked former Indiana University coach Bob Knight for his endorsement.
UPDATE 9:12 p.m.
NBC and CNN are projecting Bernie Sanders as the winner in the Indiana Democratic presidential primary.
Here is a gallery of photos from his final primary speech in Indianapolis.
UPDATE 9:10 p.m.
Republican National Committee chair:
UPDATE 9:03 p.m.
IndyStar on Todd Young's victory over Marlin Stutzman in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate: "Democrats, who had viewed Stutzman as the easier candidate to beat, could still decide to wage a real fight in Indiana if the volatile presidential contest puts more Senate seats in play."
Young faces Democrat Baron Hill in November.
UPDATE 8:55 p.m.
With 56 percent of the vote counted, Trey Hollingsworth appears to be edging closer to winning the Republican congressional primary in the ninth district. He's at 35 percent. Erin Houchin is at 25 percent and Greg Zoeller is at 22 percent.
UPDATE 8:40 p.m.
Ted Cruz, during a concession speech at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Indianapolis, says he'll drop out of the race. He said there is no longer a viable path to victory.
"We are suspending our campaign," Cruz said. "But hear me now: I am not suspending the fight for our people."
UPDATE 8:35 p.m.
The Associated Press and CNN reporting that Ted Cruz will drop out of race.
UPDATE 8:31 p.m.
Politico, quoting Ted Cruz's campaign manager, says Cruz will quit the race.
UPDATE 8:23 p.m.
Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz's choice as a running mate, spoke to supporters in Indianapolis.
"I know that I speak for the entire Cruz family, the entire Cruz team, when I tell you how many Hoosiers we have fallen in love with," she said.
She told the crowd that the "cause continues and you are warriors still."
UPDATE 8:09 p.m.
Todd Young will win the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, defeating Marlin Stutzman, according to the Associated Press.
UPDATE 7:52 p.m.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich plans to continue campaigning, despite the results in Indiana's Republican presidential primary.
"Our strategy has been and continues to be one that involves winning the nomination at an open convention," Kasich's chief strategist said.
UPDATE 7:47 p.m.
The New York Post weighs in on the results in Indiana.
UPDATE 7:44 p.m.
The Democratic presidential primary remains very close. With 22 percent of votes counted, Bernie Sanders leads Hillary Clinton by less than 200 votes. Sanders had 80,032 votes.
UPDATE 7:33 p.m.
Bernie Sanders, in Louisville, told supporters, "The issue of income inequality is the great moral issue of our time, it is the great economic issue of our time, it is the great political issue of our time. Together, we will address that issue."
The Kentucky primary is May 17.
The Indiana Democratic primary is extremely close.
UPDATE 7:15 p.m.
IndyStar's story on Trump's victory: "The billionaire real estate developer and reality TV star galvanized Hoosier voters with his brash brand of populism, despite a do-or-die campaign effort from Cruz."
UPDATE: 7:08 p.m.
The Indiana Democratic party wasted little time reacting to Trump's projected victory, issuing a release saying that Ted Cruz is the "latest victim of the Mike Pence effect."
Pence endorsed Cruz, and the release said Tuesday's result "speaks volumes about how unpopular Mike Pence has become with Hoosiers across the state."
UPDATE 7:04 p.m.
The Associated Press has also projected Trump as the winner in Indiana.
UPDATE 7 p.m.
CNN projects that Donald Trump will win Indiana's Republican primary.
UPDATE 6:45 p.m.
Polling places in Zionsville and Whitestown have long lines, and results there will probably be delayed, the Boone County Clerk told Fox59.
UPDATE 6:37 p.m.
About $5.5 million was spent in Indiana on television and radio ads against Donald Trump, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Trump spent about $870,000 in the state.
UPDATE 6:25 p.m.
The only question is whether Trump claims all 57 delegates by carrying Indiana's fifth district, which should be his weakest, says FiveThirtyEight.com. The district includes northern Marion County and Hamilton, Grant and Tipton Counties.
UPDATE 6 p.m.
Polls have closed in most of the state.
UPDATE 5:57 p.m.
"Of America’s 3,141 counties, there’s only one that has voted with the winner in every November presidential election since 1956: Vigo County, Indiana." Blog post from FiveThirtyEight.com.
UPDATE 5:55 p.m.
If you are in line before 6 p.m., you can still vote.
UPDATE 5:10 p.m.
During a discussion of the Indiana primary, a CNN analyst called Indiana "a very racially divisive and divided" state.
UPDATE 3 P.M.:
You already knew that Republican front-runner Donald Trump led the GOP field in most Indiana polling, but did you know he leads in Google searches, too?
A Vox story posted this morning shows that Indiana people are searching mostly for Trump, as well as the issues he talks about most (terrorism and immigration).
From the Vox story:
Google search, obviously, is not a perfect predictor of electoral outcomes. But it has shown to be one powerful indicator of what primary voters are thinking about as they head to the polls.
And in Indiana, the issues residents want to search for are also the ones that Trump wants to talk about.
The story on Vox’s website maps Google data across all of Indiana's counties, which is nifty. Check it out.
UPDATE 2:36 P.M.:
Indiana election officials said 293,666 applications for early and absentee ballots had been requested statewide, according to Angie Nussmeyer, co-director of the Indiana Election Division. Of those:
- 183,904 requests were for Republican ballots
- 109,269 requests were for Democrat ballots
- 286,250 total ballots were received statewide
In-person early voting accounted for 229,209 ballots cast.
Another 11,032 ballots were requested for voters who were hospitalized or physically unable to complete the ballot without assistance, something the state calls the “travel board.” The state received 10,360 travel board ballots.
There were 51,906 applications for absentee vote-by-mail ballots, of which 45,761 were received.
Military and overseas voters applied for 1,519 ballots, of which 920 were received.
UPDATE 2:33 P.M.:
Social media played a larger role than ever in Indiana's primary election today, according to a study that found more than 90,000 Hoosiers registered to vote online in the week before Indiana’s April 4 registration deadline.
Posts to sites including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram drove a frenzy of online voter registration with a one-day peak of more than 33,500 registration transactions on March 28, The Pew Charitable Trusts announced.
Pew reported that 147,260 Indiana voters registered or updated their registration since Dec. 1. More than 60 percent of voters registered in the final week.
Nearly 40 percent of all registered voters for today’s election filled out the forms online, Pew reported.
UPDATE 12:30 P.M.:
Mark it down: Indiana’s primary election jumped the shark before lunchtime.
It started with a Donald Trump phone call broadcast by Fox News today, according to The Associated Press. The Republican front-runner repeated unsubstantiated claims from a National Enquirer story that said Ted Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, had links to John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
That claim drew a heated response from Cruz at a campaign stop in Evansville.
“This man is utterly amoral,” Cruz told reporters. “Morality doesn’t exist for him.”
He called Trump a "serial philanderer" and a "narcissist at a level I don't think this country has ever seen."
Then he said: “It is only Indiana that can pull us back."
Buckle up. We still have another five-and-a-half hours until Central Indiana polls close.
UPDATE 11:52 A.M.:
Aides for Ted Cruz's presidential campaign are pessimistic about the Republican's chances in Indiana's primary election, according to a new report from The Associated Press.
Aides are preparing for a potential Cruz loss tonight.
From the AP:
With polls predicting a loss, campaign officials were bracing for immediate staffing cuts "at a minimum," according to one aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.
The aide said the campaign was preparing for "a very somber" address Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Publicly, however, the senator has vowed to stay in the race, regardless of the results.
"I am in for the distance, as long as we have a viable path to victory," Cruz told reporters on Monday during a campaign stop.
"Indiana is very important, because if I win that's the end of it. It would be over," Trump said during a lunch stop Monday in Indianapolis.
Cruz has barnstormed Indiana over the past several days, pitching the state as a do-or-die for stopping Donald Trump.
UPDATE 11:45 A.M.:
Computer problems caused some delays for early-morning Hancock County voters, Clerk Marcia Moore said.
"We did have a software server update situation," Moore said. "On top of that, we think there was some poll worker error, where the poll workers got ahead of themselves and did things in the wrong order."
Voters still cast ballots, Moore said, but the system was very slow and showing error messages.
Hardest hit was the vote center at the Vineyard Church, 1672 N. 600 West, Greenfield.
"The beauty of vote centers is when one center is having a problem, other vote centers are up-and-running," Moore said.
Moore is expecting record turnout. About 4,500 Hancock County voters had cast ballots by 10:30 a.m. About 7,000 more voted early.
In Marion County, the polling place inside Goodwill Industries, 1635 W Michigan St., opened about 30 minutes late this morning, said Russell Hollis, deputy director of the Marion County clerk’s office.
One problem out of 600 precincts is pretty good, Hollis said.
“Everything has been going great,” Hollis said.
Election officials are bracing for heavy turnout today. Early voting set a new record this year, topping the 2008 tally by 13 voters, Hollis said.
Hollis warned voters to expect some lines and be patient.
“We want to make sure every voter has a free, fair and easy voting experience,” Hollis said.
Marion County voters who need help finding their polling sites or have questions can call the clerk’s election hotline at (317) 327-VOTE, or visit www.indygov/vip.
In Hamilton County, there have been no serious problems at the polling places, said Kathy Richardson, the county election administrator.
There have been lines of voters reported at many precincts, Richardson said, noting "that's a good thing."
Turnout totals won't be available until after the polls close at 6 p.m. A record 11,000 voters cast early ballots, she said.
In Johnson County, voters waited up to 30 minutes to cast their ballots at the vote centers.
“It’s been going really smoothly,” said Heather Overton, inspector at the Johnson County vote center at the White River Township Branch Library.
Voters waited about 30 minutes to cast ballots at the vote center inside Mt. Pleasant Church, near Ind. 37 and Fairview Road.
But Overton said voters were moving quickly through the White River Library lines, with one voter waiting just seven minutes at about 7:30 a.m.
UPDATE 9:21 A.M.:
Earlier, we reported that Marion County's early voting numbers were at a record high (by about 10 voters) this primary election.
Now, we have early voting numbers across all of Indiana:
Higher early voting is one predictor of higher election day turnout.
That's a welcome change compared to some of our other elections (ahem, 2014's midterms and 2015's municipal elections).
UPDATE 8:30 A.M.:
Hoards of Indiana voters, and out-of-town volunteers, came to Lincoln Square Pancake House in Westfield to shake hands with Ted Cruz, but instead were greeted by Cruz's wife, Heidi Cruz, and Carly Fiorina, his running mate if he wins the GOP nomination.
Ted Cruz canceled his appearance at the restaurant on Ind. 32 as he headed to Evansville for another campaign stop.
Fiorina and Heidi Cruz circled through the jam-packed restaurant, posing for pictures with supporters, shaking hands, smiling for selfies and signing autographs.
Some voters, like Cynthia Adams, of Noblesville, were disappointed the Republican presidential candidate did not show.
"I thought he'd be here," said Adams, 65, as she looked over a menu after the campaign bus and crowds had left.
Of the visit from Fiorina and Heidi Cruz, Adams said: "The media was mobbing and I couldn't hear what anyone said."
Others, though, were unfazed when they heard Ted Cruz would not stop at the restaurant.
"I'm still excited," said Sharon Turner, of Peru, Ind. Her daughter bobbed up and down excitedly anticipating the arrival of the Cruz campaign bus.
Heidi Cruz chatted with 19-year-old Kyle Schultz, an Indiana University freshman decked in red Hoosiers gear. Schultz said he is still an undecided voter, and listened to Cruz as she talked about jobs and the role of state and federal governments. At another table, Fiorina clasped hands with a voter, asking, "Are you still undecided?"
Ted Cruz is scheduled to return to Indianapolis for an election night watch party at 7 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Union Station.
Cruz supporters, and other opponents of Republican front-runner Donald Trump, badly need a win in Indiana if they are going to deny Trump the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination outright and force a contested race at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this summer. But Trump enters the Indiana race with momentum from several big wins in northeastern states and is leading Cruz here according to most polls.
Poll: Reversal of fortune, Donald Trump tops Ted Cruz in Indiana
Ted Cruz announces Carly Fiorina as his running mate
UPDATE 8:14 A.M.:
"A few technical issues" affected Hancock County voters starting at 6 a.m., an election office worker said.
All polls are now operational, she said.
UPDATE 7:12 A.M.:
This year, Marion County topped its previous record for early voting in a primary election, noted the county election board in a news release. Early voting in 2016 topped 2008's record by "just over 10 voters," the release note, and it's 95 percent higher than it was in 2012.
Long lines are expected in Marion County, according to the release, and voters are asked to be patient and courteous.
UPDATE 6:53 A.M.:
Central Indiana polls for the primary election are officially open.
A big turnout is expected today, so lines are likely across much of Central Indiana.
Before polls opened at 6 a.m., about 60 people were waiting at College Park Church in Carmel, said Tony Green, a precinct inspector.
"That's bigger than it has been in other primaries," Green said. Three precincts vote at the location.
"We are expecting a heavy turnout," said Sandy Melin, another precinct inspector. A steady crowd voted in Forest Dale Elementary in Carmel, where IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley is reporting.
Today is a "great opportunity" for Indiana to have a voice, said Tammy Smith of Carmel. But she found some of the national campaigning here frustrating. "It doesn't feel meaningful locally," she said. "It feels like a show."
In Greenwood, about 50 people were lined up at the voting center at Mt. Pleasant Christian Church, where IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert is reporting. People who joined the line after 6 a.m. waited about a half hour to vote.
"We've had long lines even before we started and they haven't gotten any shorter," said Steve Young, precinct inspector.
One voter, 56-year-old Andrew White, arrived at 5:15 a.m. to get in line. "People died for me to have the right to vote," he said.
There were early-morning social media reports of voting problems in Hancock County.
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Earlier:
You've seen the presidential campaign ads, heard the candidates at rallies and witnessed Indiana's unusual arrival in the national spotlight for the primary election. Now, Hoosiers, it's time to cast your ballots.
Indiana polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, and voters will decide whom to vote for: Donald Trump or Ted Cruz? Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders? And what about John Kasich?
Several other races will be on ballots, too, such as U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state legislative races and county-level offices.
IndyStar will be updating election stories throughout the day. Check this blog for the latest on voting, turnout, polling place problems and more throughout Central Indiana.
And before you head to the polls, make sure you're prepared with these five tips from IndyStar reporters.
My Ballot - IndyStar Voter Guide
Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @vicryc.
Call IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.
Call IndyStar breaking news editor Ryan Martin at (317) 444-6294. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @ryanmartin.
Several IndyStar reporters contributed to this blog.