Donald Trump scored a big victory Tuesday in Indiana, leading Ted Cruz to drop out of the race and cementing the billionaire real estate mogul as the Republican Party’s likely nominee.
The NBC News Exit Poll showed some of the issues top of mind for Indiana voters, including the economy and the campaign as a whole. Here are five charts that help explain Tuesday’s results.
Half of Indiana Republican voters said they “feel betrayed” by politicians from the Republican Party. Trump has run on his “outsider” credentials during the primary campaign, targeting elected officials — Democrats and Republicans — who Trump says have let the country down.
When asked to describe their feelings about the three candidates Tuesday, GOP voters made it clear that none of them were inspiring much confidence. Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Trump each left more than four in 10 Indiana Republicans either “concerned” or downright “scared” about what he would do in office.
Trump has been critical of the Republican Party’s complicated delegate selection rules, even calling the process “rigged.” But a majority of Republican voters in Indiana — including Trump’s supporters — say the nominating process thus far has been fair.
Although Trump’s unorthodox candidacy has mobilized a loyal group of followers, nearly six in 10 Republicans think the campaign has “divided” their party rather than “energized” it. Not surprisingly, this sentiment was held particularly strongly among Cruz and Kasich supporters.
On the Democratic side, continuing a theme seen across many primary contests, a large majority of voters in Indiana on Tuesday said they were concerned about the direction of the U.S. economy.
Sam Petulla and David Taintor contributed.
NBC News Exit Poll Desk