Below is a brief excerpt from Potomac Research Group Chief Political Strategist JT Taylor's Morning Bullets sent to institutional clients each morning.
TRUMP TROUNCES:
Donald Trump continues to dominate this election cycle with his strongest double-digit win to date in Nevada last night. Efforts to dent his momentum by Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were fell dismally short and the heretofore coveted second place became the consolation prize no one seem to want or acknowledge. Trump won with commanding margins in every demographic across the board -- even Hispanics.
Bottom line: With less than a week to Super Tuesday -- where Trump continues to be favored in many of the 12 states at stake -- chances to stop him are fading fast.
SPOILER ALERT:
Rubio may be getting a bump from capturing most of Jeb Bush's support, but he'll have a tough time growing his lead so long as Kasich remains in the race. Absent consolidation among anti-Trump candidates, the odds are far higher that The Donald will capture the vast majority of the 595 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday, potentially giving him an insurmountable advantage. Kasich doesn't have any incentive to get out of the race, and isn't likely to do so despite the number of elbows he's getting from Team Rubio.
THANKS, BUT NO THANKS?
The Republican establishment is only now realizing that Trump has both momentum on his side and a series of favorable primary contests ahead. Trump will be more difficult to stop, and we've said that the establishment has no luxury of time to coalesce around Rubio as the anti-Trump. As last night's Nevada results indicate, the recent outpouring of establishment support for Rubio may be coming too little, too late.
The usual advantage of these endorsements -- the donor and organizational access they grant -- is diminished as they only started to roll in for Rubio with just over a week to go before March 1. Moreover, with such an anti-establishment mood this year, the wave of endorsements could tag him as the candidate of the hated Washington class.
