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06:08 GMT
WASHINGTON, May 4 (KUNA) -- Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican front-runner Donald Trump both obtained strong wins in the Indiana primary on Tuesday bolstering the real estate mogul to be the "presumptive" GOP presidential nominee of the US' conservative base.
Trump, "will be the presumptive GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating" Hillary Clinton, said Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus in a tweet.
"We are going after Hillary Clinton," Trump echoed to supporters after his win. "You will be so proud of this country very very soon."
For runner-up Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the loss was too much for him to continue his campaign, in which he told supporters, "Tonight I'm sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed."
There are 57 delegates up for grabs for the GOP, and Trump is expected to take most of them, elevating him closer to reaching the magic number of 1,237 delegates that would secure a presidential nomination.
With 93 percent of precincts reporting, the billionaire businessman won 53 percent of the vote, while Cruz won 36 percent and Ohio Governor John Kasich won 7.5 percent.
Exit polls indicated that voters in Indiana were not sold on the Cruz-Kasich alliance that was aimed to set Trump back from reaching 1,237 delegates. Under the plan, Cruz focused on Indiana, while Kasich centered his campaign in Oregon and New Mexico.
On the Democratic side, Sanders led front-runner Hillary Clinton in Indiana 52 to 47 percent with 93 percent of precincts reporting. The state has 83 delegates at stake in which Sanders has so far been assigned 43 with Clinton at 37. The win is big for Sanders who only won one of five contests last week but continues to struggle to compete with Clinton in the total delegate count.
"The political revolution wins in Indiana! Thank you," Sanders said on Twitter. (end)
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