02:35

Ted Cruz won a much-needed victory against Donald Trump in the Utah caucus, the AP reports.

Ted Cruz speaks to the media about attacks in Brussels on Tuesday. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

After an expected loss against the real estate billionaire in the high-stakes Arizona primary, the Utah win for Cruz offers the Texas Senator a victory that can help keep his campaign alive as the GOP race inches closer to a contested convention.

There’s little doubt that the powerful Mormon vote in Utah played a big role in securing a win for Cruz here – in large part because many religious voters have expressed distaste for Trump’s vulgar style and bombastic statements on immigration.

The win for Cruz also signals big problems for Trump in the general election if he ultimately wins the nomination. Recent polls have shown that Utahns dislike Trump to such a great degree that the state could actually go blue in November – something that hasn’t happened in half a century. Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton would beat Trump in the general election, according to one poll.

Pundits say it could be very tough for a Republican presidential candidate to win the White House without the previously reliable red state of Utah.

At a Salt Lake City caucus site on Tuesday, Perri Flory, a 60-year-old retired police officer, criticized Mormons for backing Cruz, but said she was confident that Trump, her favorite candidate, would not be blocked from the nomination. Flory said she was thrilled to finally have a candidate speaking the truth on immigration: “Everyone who comes here should become a US citizen, and if you break the law, you need to pay for it.”

She added: “The Mormon state is not going to stop Trump.”