Trump’s abortion gaffe puts key primary win in doubt

Republicans desperate to stop Donald Trump’s march to the party’s nomination for president are counting on Tuesday’s key primary to derail him.

The New York billionaire, who has attracted a storm of criticism over his U-turn on abortion, is having one of the worst weeks of his 2016 campaign.

He now faces a challenge in Wisconsin, a state already sceptical about his politics. A big loss for Mr Trump would cut his chances of securing the delegates he needs to clinch the nomination before July’s national convention.

It could also offer new hope to his leading rival, Ted Cruz, and outside groups that see Mr Trump as a threat to the future of the Republican Party. Texas senator Mr Cruz said: “The choice Wisconsin makes is going to have repercussions for a long time to come.”

Mr Trump’s view is rosier: “If we win Wisconsin, it’s pretty much over.”

But almost nothing has gone right for the property mogul, 69, since the state stepped into the primary spotlight.

The trouble began on Tuesday, hours before his first campaign stop, when Wisconsin’s two-term governor, Scott Walker, threw his support behind Mr Cruz, 45. Later, Mr Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with assaulting a female reporter at a rally.

Then, Mr Trump was forced into a U-turn on an assertion that if abortion were illegal, there should be “some form of punishment” for women who have the procedure. His comments managed to unite both sides of the debate in opposition to his statement. Two groups backing Democrat Hillary Clinton, Planned Parenthood and Priorities USA, joined forces for an advert featuring his words, and calling him “dangerous”.

A week before the northern state’s primary, a poll run by Marquette University Law School showed Mr Trump lagging behind Mr Cruz by about 10 points — a dramatic fall for the candidate who led in the same poll last month.

If Mr Cruz sweeps all the delegates in Wisconsin, Mr Trump will need to win 57 per cent of the remaining delegates in other states to collect the 1,237 he needs to clinch the nomination. So far, he has won 48 per cent of all delegates awarded.

Wisconsin offers 42 delegates. But its stature in Republican politics and its position on the calendar — no other state votes until Mr Trump’s home state of New York on April 19 — have elevated its importance.