Trump eyes Indiana knockout, Clinton turns toward November

Presidential frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hoped Tuesday the Indiana primaries would put them one step closer to locking up the Republican and Democratic nominations -- and their likely November showdown. The latest contest in the 2016 White House race is seen as a day of reckoning for the "stop Trump" movement led by his closest rival Ted Cruz. But the billionaire real estate mogul -- who has thus far defied all political logic to lead the Republican race -- looked set to deliver a death blow to the conservative Texas senator, with a recent NBC poll giving Trump a 15-point advantage in the midwestern state. "I don't think he's got the temperament to be president," Trump said of Cruz in an interview with Fox News after polls opened. "People are tired with what's happening with these politicians and they're just tired of seeing our country get ripped off." Clinton and her rival Bernie Sanders were locked in a closer Indiana race, with the former secretary of state leading by just under seven percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average. Clinton, 68, is far enough ahead overall that Sanders' only hope now lies in the unlikely scenario of her failing to win a majority of delegates in the primaries, in which case her nomination could be contested at a Democratic convention in July. "I'm really focused on moving into the general election," a confident Clinton told MSNBC Tuesday in West Virginia. "That's where we have to be because we are going to have a tough campaign against a candidate who'll literally say or do anything," she said of Trump. "We're going to take him on at every turn." Cruz was also hoping to thwart Trump by using Indiana as a firewall, blocking the brash billionaire from receiving the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the nomination at the Republican convention in Cleveland in July. Mathematically eliminated from winning outright, Cruz's goal is to snatch victory on a second ballot, when most delegates become free to vote for whomever they choose -- but which will only be held if Trump falls short of a majority in round one. - 'Staring at the abyss' - With momentum favoring the 69-year-old Trump, who won the last six contests, the primary battle took a nasty turn Tuesday when Trump cited a tabloid report linking Cruz's father Rafael to John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Trump evoked the recent National Enquirer story in his interview with Fox News. "This is just kooky," an irate Cruz shot back while stumping in Evansville, Indiana, branding Trump a "pathological liar." "The man is utterly amoral," said Cruz, lambasting the frontrunner as "a caricature of a braggadocious, arrogant buffoon who builds giant casinos with giant pictures of him everywhere he looks." "We are staring at the abyss," Cruz warned. Should Cruz fall short Tuesday, even his supporters see an extremely steep road ahead. Until recently, Indiana was widely seen as a good state for the senator, who has performed well in primaries dominated by conservative and evangelical voters. Observers say a Trump victory would raise serious questions about whether Cruz can still win other states where he was thought to be favored, such as Nebraska, Washington, Montana and South Dakota. If Trump sweeps Indiana's 57 delegates, "it could be over," former Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler acknowledged. The frontrunner has so far amassed 1,002 delegates, according to CNN's tally. He needs just under half of the 502 in play in the remaining 10 contests to lock in the nomination. Cruz is at 572 delegates, while Ohio Governor John Kasich trails with 156. The map currently favors Trump, who is polling well ahead in the largest states yet to vote -- California and New Jersey. - 'Let's focus on Hillary' - Clinton needs only 21 percent of remaining Democratic delegates to win her party's nomination, but she declined to call on Sanders to drop out. "He has every right to finish out this primary season. I couldn't argue with that," Clinton said. Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist senator representing Vermont, wasn't throwing in the towel. Courting the union vote in Indiana, where manufacturing has taken a hit, Sanders sought to focus on trade. "Secretary Clinton has supported virtually every one of these disastrous trade agreements and that is an area of strong disagreement that the voters of Indiana and America will have to consider," he said outside a diner in Indianapolis. Either candidate needs 2,383 delegates for victory. Currently Clinton has 2,179 including 513 superdelegates, while Sanders has 1,400 including 41 superdelegates. A confident Trump was already relishing a general election matchup with Clinton. "Please, let's focus on Hillary," he said on the eve of the vote. Clinton appeared ready for the challenge, telling MSNBC that the quick-to-insult Trump "has given no indication that he understands the gravity of the responsibilities that go with being commander-in-chief."