Billionaire Donald Trump is the only Republican who has the right to be nominated as a candidate of the party for the US presidency in the upcoming elections this year.
The Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, recently announced the end of his participation in the race. Less than a day after that, Senator of Texas Ted Cruz, who was considered to be the only real opponent of Trump among Republican candidates, made the same announcement. "We did everything we could, but the voters have chosen a different path. With sadness, but with limitless faith in the future of our country, we are stopping the campaign,’’ he told his supporters.
The results of the primaries in Indiana, where Trump was supported by 53.3%, Cruz by 36.6% and Kasich by 7.6%, pushed the adoption of such a decision. The eccentric billionaire was supported by 51 delegates in accordance with current regulations. Now he has more than 1,000 votes of the convention delegates, while 1,237 votes are enough for the nomination of the Republican candidate.
It is noted that Donald Trump has received signals that the leadership of the Republican Party, previously strongly opposed to him, has changed its position and now they are ready to rally around him as a candidate for the post of the head of the White House.
The Democrats, the Republicans’s opponents, continue their competition, but the leader was determined a long time ago who will probably become the candidate of that party. She is a former Secretary of State and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who already has 2215 participants’ votes of the Democratic Party’s Congress out of the 2383 that are necessary for the nomination. Her only opponent is Senator of the state of Vermont, Bernie Sanders, who has only 1442 votes.
Senior Fellow at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAN Vladimir Olenchenko said in an interview with a ‘Vestnik Kavkaza’ correspondent that the fact that Donald Trump was the only candidate would be ‘‘a little fallaciously’’.
"First of all, according to the rules of the convention, any candidature may be considered during it if the deputies demand it. Secondly, those MPs who vote in the caucuses are free to choose. These two factors should be considered, without assumption that Trump is undeniable and the final figure of the Republican party. This remark, in my opinion, important for the understanding of the processes occurring in the national environment. Ted Cruz and John Keysik still retain their chances to be discussed at the Republican convention. It is possible in principle," he explained.
Speaking about the reasons for Donald Trump’s triumph during the primaries, the expert noted that "any elections in the US, as in any country, are a financially cost-based affair. Even a simple notification of the elections is already millions of dollars, without taking the propaganda campaign into account. "
"Accordingly, there are two variants: either the candidate has such means and he is able to finance his own campaign, or he is financed by some stakeholders, or big business, or private individuals. As Donald Trump, he can finance his campaign self. This funding superior to those financial resources that other candidates have. Of course, it also played its role. I don’t want to say that it has played a significant role in the fact that he was ahead of his opponents’, Olenchenko pointed out.
The Political scientist shared the general opinion that the Democratic candidate is likely to be Hillary Clinton. "The Democrats have made it clear that any other candidates won’t be considered at the convention in addition to Hillary Clinton,’’ he said.
