Republican and Democratic voters in Indiana went to the polls on Tuesday, May 3, to choose their presidential nominees. This post was updated throughout the day with news, analysis, exit polls and results.

Update (May 4, 6:00 a.m. PT): Final results

Indiana presidential primary results (98% precincts reporting)

Republican Party

Donald Trump: 53.3%

Ted Cruz: 36.7%

John Kasich: 7.5%

Democratic Party

Bernie Sanders: 52.7%

Hillary Clinton: 47.3%

Update (May 3, 6:30 p.m. PT): Sanders wins Indiana, Trump looks to general election



Bernie Sanders has won the Indiana Democratic primary, multiple news sources project.

The victory will not provide the Vermont senator much of a boost in his efforts to close the gap in pledged delegates with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton remains the overwhelming favorite to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. But the victory tonight renews Sanders' momentum and provides him with more fodder for his plan to force a "contested convention" in Philadelphia, where he says he will try to get large swathes of superdelegates to switch their allegiance from Clinton to Sanders.

While the Democratic primary fight continues, Republican leaders are beginning to look for ways for their fractured party to come together. After Donald Trump won tonight and Ted Cruz suspended his campaign, GOP National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted out a call for unity.

.@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton — Reince Priebus (@Reince) May 4, 2016

Update (May 3, 5:45 p.m. PT): Cruz out, many GOP insiders worried about fall

Donald Trump has had another big night at the polls, winning the Indiana Republican primary by double-digits and driving Texas Sen. Ted Cruz out of the race. Cruz has officially suspended his campaign, saying he and his team "left it all on the field" in Indiana.

The stunning result in the Hoosier State makes Trump's nomination at July's Republican National Convention all but assured. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has won only his home state of Ohio, remains in the race.

But even with Trump triumphant, Republicans in the 10 key "battleground" states that will decide the general election don't see much hope for him, a Politico report concludes. The vast majority of Republican and Democratic activists and officials surveyed -- some 90 percent combined -- believe Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton will win their state. (Even if Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders takes the Indiana Democratic primary tonight -- the contest is still too close to call -- Clinton remains the heavy favorite to land her party's nomination.)

"More than three-quarters of GOP insiders expect Clinton to best the Republican front-runner in a general-election contest in their respective states," Politico wrote earlier today. Some high-profile Republicans are considering abandoning a party led by Trump or have already done so. Mark Salter, the former chief of staff for 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain, announced today on Twitter that he's "with her" -- meaning Clinton.

the GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it's on the level. I'm with her. — Mark Salter (@MarkSalter55) May 3, 2016

This apparently bleak electoral landscape could lead Trump to try to convince Kasich to join the ticket as his running mate, even though the Kasich campaign has said their man would "never" take the vice-presidential gig. Ohio is likely be a must-win state for Trump in the fall.

"Trump cannot and will not carry Ohio," a Republican insider in that state said.

Trump, for his part, says that GOP officials don't understand his movement. He says his ability to pull in disaffected voters who normally stay home on Election Day will scramble the normal electoral math.

The Clinton camp, on the other hand, believes widespread dislike of Trump among women and minorities will allow her not only to win the battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, but it also will potentially help her to win other states -- such as Arizona, Utah and Georgia -- that normally are out of reach for Democratic presidential candidates.

We shall see. Cruz's exit from the race tonight will give Trump some breathing room before the July convention to try to unite the party behind him. Kasich appears highly unlikely to be able to put up much of a fight as Trump pushes on to wrap up the nomination. As FiveThirtyEight.com's Nate Silver points out below, Kasich's delegate haul now trails two candidates -- Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio -- who have dropped out of the race.

Now John Kasich is 4th place in a 2-man race. — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) May 4, 2016

Update (May 3, 4:02 p.m. PT): Trump wins again

Businessman and reality-TV star Donald Trump has won the Indiana Republican primary, multiple news sources project. Early indications are that Trump is likely to sweep all 57 of the state's delegates.

His response to the victory? Just after the polls closed and media outlets made their projections, he hit Texas Sen. Ted Cruz via Twitter: "Wow, Lyin' Ted Cruz really went wacko today. Made all sorts of crazy charges. Can't function under pressure -- not very presidential. Sad!"

In a follow-up tweet, he said Cruz should drop out of the race -- "stop wasting time & money."

The Indiana Democratic primary is still too close to call. The last polls in the state closed just minutes ago.

Update (May 3, 3:12 p.m. PT): Exit polls look good for Trump, Sanders

The voter turnout for Indiana Democrats is high, and early exit-poll responses appear to favor Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, ABC News reports.

About 50 percent of voters in Indiana's Democratic primary are under age 45 and 30 percent describe themselves as "strong liberals," two categories that typically favor Sanders. More than 60 percent say they want a candidate who's either "honest and trustworthy" or "cares about people like them." Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is viewed as honest and trustworthy by only about half of Democratic voters today, while Sanders is at around 90 percent.

Clinton has consistently been the choice of voters who value relevant experience over ideology and who want a candidate who's "most electable," but early exit polls put those voters at only about 40 percent in Indiana.

Sixty percent of the state's Democratic voters say Sanders is "more inspiring." The candidate who has scored better on this question has almost always come out on top during this election cycle.

Clinton is viewed by Indiana voters as "more realistic," but six in 10 say Wall Street has damaged the economy. Sanders' calls to break up big banks and hold Wall Street more accountable have been bedrocks of his campaign, while Clinton is generally viewed as a more business-friendly candidate.

These numbers suggest Sanders could be on his way to an upset win in Indiana, but remember, these are early exit polls.

As for Indiana Republicans, ABC News reports that a majority of voters want a candidate who "tells it like it is," is an "outsider" and will "bring needed change" -- phrases that have consistently been attached to Donald Trump voters.

Seventy percent of Indiana Republican voters are "very worried" about the economy, another indication that Trump will have reason to celebrate tonight.

Trump's chief rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, can take heart that his efforts to secure delegates at state conventions apparently hasn't turned off Indiana voters. Only about 30 percent of Republican voters in the Hoosier State believe the presidential nominating process is "rigged," a word Trump has regularly used to describe it. Also, 60 percent of Republican Indiana voters call themselves evangelicals, according to exit polls. Christians have been Cruz's core voters throughout the primary season.

If there's any solace for Ohio Gov. John Kasich in these preliminary exit polls, it's that only about a third of GOP voters today are "angry" at the workings of the federal government, which is a significantly lower percentage than in many other states that have voted.

All told, the early exit polls indicate Trump will end up on top when the final results are tallied.

Update (May 3, 1:20 p.m. PT): What Cruz got wrong about Indiana

The book on Indiana is that its Republicans are very conservative, and traditionally so: family-values-embracing, God-fearing, basketball-loving Middle Americans.

But if Texas Sen. Ted Cruz loses in the Hoosier state today, as polls indicate he will, it will be because that book is out of date and the Cruz campaign didn't realize it.

"Today, vast swaths of the state's Republican electorate, from Indianapolis to West Lafayette, have retreated from the culture wars," Politico writes. "And like the 50s-era diner itself, Cruz's dogged socially conservative message seems anachronistic -- and perhaps a little tin-eared -- to these fiscally conservative, socially liberal Republicans, the kind Cruz has to win over in the state's crucial, populous and well-heeled 'doughnut' counties surrounding Indianapolis ... Cruz might have thought that he didn't need to appeal to this section of the electorate -- that it would be enough to preach to the choir of [the state's conservative] base, but his 15-point deficit in the polls shows that he might have made a fatal miscalculation."

An example of that possible miscalculation: Cruz in recent days has highlighted the controversial transgender bathroom restrictions law in North Carolina. "There is no greater evil than predators," he said, "and if the law says that any man, if he chooses, can enter a women's restroom, a little girl's restroom, and stay there and he cannot be removed because he simply says at that moment he feels like a woman, you're opening the door for predators."

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, on the other hand, took the opposite position. "There have been very few complaints the way it is," he said, referring to North Carolina before the new law was passed. "People go. They use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble."

Trump invited transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner to come to one of his commercial properties in New York and use the restroom. Jenner took him up on it. "By the way, Ted, nobody got molested," Jenner said in a video chronicling the trip.

Update (May 3, 11:20 a.m. PT): Clinton says she's ready for Trump's attacks

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat down with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell today as Indiana voters headed to the polls.

The Democratic presidential front-runner talked about how the country needs to aggressively move toward a clean-energy future but without leaving behind coal- and oil-industry workers. (Mitchell showed a clip from a meeting Clinton recently had with West Virginia voters in which an emotional coal miner said he wants his family "to know that they have a future in this state, because this is a great state.")

Insisting her earlier comments about putting coal miners out of work were taken out of context, Clinton said "we have to remember who turned on the lights and powered the factories we needed to help us build our country. ... We're going to be in a position to make a transition [to clean energy] but we're not there yet."

Mitchell moved on to Clinton's controversial private Goldman Sachs speeches, asking her what is in them that she wouldn't want out there in the public sphere. "Nothing," Clinton said, but she dodged the follow-up question about releasing the text of the speeches.

The interview then turned to Donald Trump, Clinton's likely opponent in the general election.

"I do have some experience dealing with this kind of visceral, mean-spirited attacks," Clinton said of Trump's propensity for issuing ad hominem broadsides. She added:

"When I think about running against him, I'm going to stay focused on the issues that are going to make a difference in people's lives. ... I'm not going to be responding to his every insult and attack. I don't think that's what this election is going to come down to."

Mitchell asked if she thought Trump was qualified to be president.

"When I hear him say some of the things he says about foreign policy and national security, even I find it scary. ... He has given no indication that he understands the gravity of the responsibilities that go with being commander in chief." Watch the interview below:

Update (May 3, 10:35 a.m. PT): Trump responds to Cruz attack

Donald Trump, as expected, responded quickly to Ted Cruz's assessment of Trump's character, which itself was a response to Trump's accusations this morning that Cruz's father hung out with JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the summer of 1963.

"Ted Cruz is a desperate candidate trying to save his failing campaign," Trump said in an official statement. "It is no surprise he has resorted to his usual tactics of over-the-top rhetoric that nobody believes. Over the last week, I have watched Lyin' Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pressure and stress of losing, in all cases by landslides, the last six primary elections --- in fact, coming in last place in all but one of them. Today's ridiculous outburst only proves what I have been saying for a long time, that Ted Cruz does not have the temperament to be President of the United States."

Trump's son, Donald Jr., weighed in on Twitter:

That was an impressive meltdown... Desperate but impressive. Reminded me of my 3 year old coming off a sugar high. https://t.co/3lqwHIRWo6 — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 3, 2016

The details of Trump's accusations about Cruz's father and Cruz's response are below.

Update (May 3, 9:25 a.m. PT): Trump embraces tabloid story about Cruz's father

The supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer last week said it had "conclusive evidence" that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's Cuban-born father, Rafael B. Cruz, was with Lee Harvey Oswald in August of 1963 when Oswald was handing out pamphlets on the street in New Orleans. The leaflets praised Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and criticized U.S. policy toward the island nation. Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 and was himself shot dead two days later while in police custody.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump today endorsed the tabloid report in a phone interview with Fox News.

"His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald's being, you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous," Trump said. "What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up? They don't even talk about that? That was reported, and nobody talks about it. I mean, what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It's horrible."

Cruz, who trails Trump in most of the polls in Indiana, responded emotionally, calling Trump a "pathological liar," "utterly amoral" and a "narcissist." The Texas senator said Trump is deeply insecure and will betray his supporters on "every issue across the board." He added that the businessman and reality-TV star "lies [with] practically every word that comes out of his mouth."

Returning to the National Enquirer article, Cruz mockingly said that, yes, his father killed JFK, is also "secretly Elvis" and has Jimmy Hoffa buried in his backyard. (Elvis' 1977 death and the 1975 disappearance of union leader Jimmy Hoffa rival the Kennedy assassination for prominence among dedicated conspiracy theorists.)

Trump's Fox News interview, the Cruz campaign said in a statement, "is further evidence of how detached from reality Donald Trump is. ... It indicates desperation on his part to get attention."

Watch video below of Oswald handing out leaflets in 1963, and below that you can watch Trump's interview on Fox News. The National Enquirer's "evidence," it must be noted, is far from conclusive. Cruz called the publication "tabloid trash" that sells lies.

Indiana Primary preview (May 3, 5 a.m. PT): Trump, Clinton go for KOs

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz needs the outlier to be the one in Indiana.

That would be the poll commissioned by the non-partisan Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics. It has Cruz ahead of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump by 15 percentage points in the Hoosier State. The margin of error, the poll's authors state, is 4.9 percent. We'll soon see about that.

The Indiana primary is today, and it arguably represents the last, best chance for Cruz to arrest Trump's momentum and keep him below the delegate threshold for a first-ballot nomination at July's Republican National Convention.

Eight other Indiana polls have Trump in the lead, from 2 percentage points (Clout Research) to 17 (Gravis Marketing).

This grouping includes the latest poll (from NBC, the Wall Street Journal and Marist), which puts Trump out front with 49 percent support to Cruz's 34 percent, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 13 percent. If this final survey is on target, Cruz would need all of Kasich's supporters to turn his way to pull off a victory -- hence the ill-fated alliance last week between Cruz and Kasich that sought to open up anti-Trump support for the Texas senator in Indiana.

David Wasserman of data-analysis site FiveThirtyEight.com calls the Indiana primary "a desperate last stand for Ted Cruz and the #NeverTrump movement." The Republican primary is winner-take-all, both statewide and by congressional district, so if Trump's performance Tuesday matches his vote-getting prowess last Tuesday, he will take almost all of the state's 57 GOP delegates.

"A Cruz loss in Indiana means lights out," long-time Republican strategist Scott Reed told Politico. "Game, set, match."

Cruz backers say that isn't so, insisting their man is still on track to force a contested convention. The Texas senator himself says it's going to come down to California's big delegate haul on June 7. "We are all in," he said over the weekend. "We are going to be competing for all 172 delegates in California and in all 53 congressional districts. It's going to be a battle on the ground, district by district by district."

Cruz continues to believe that "no one is getting to 1,237," the number of delegates needed for a candidate to win the presidential nomination on the first ballot at the convention. If voting goes beyond the first ballot, most delegates become unbound -- that is, they're allowed to vote for any candidate. That's where Cruz would have a shot. He's worked hard behind the scenes to stack state delegations with activists who prefer him over Trump. His latest success came on Saturday in Arizona, where most of the state-delegate slots went to Cruz supporters. This despite the fact that Trump won 47 percent of the vote in the March 22 Republican primary in the Grand Canyon State. Cruz won just 24.9 percent.

There's less suspense and less at stake for the Democrats in Indiana, thanks to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's string of victories in Northeast states the past two weeks. Still, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is not giving up and is looking for a few late upsets to prime him for a battle at the Democratic National Convention. In the NBC/WSJ/Marist poll for Indiana, Clinton leads Sanders by 4 percentage points, which is within the margin of error.

"It is virtually impossible for Secretary Clinton to reach the majority of convention delegates by June 14 -- that is the last day that a primary will be held -- with pledged delegates alone," Sanders said Sunday. He added that Clinton "will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in Philadelphia. In other words, the convention will be a contested contest."

The superdelegates -- elected officials and other Democratic Party officials -- are unbound, meaning they can back the candidate of their own choice regardless of how their state or congressional district voted during the primaries. Clinton has dramatically more support among superdelegates than Sanders, but the Vermont senator is hoping he can flip large numbers of them at the convention. He'll have little chance of doing that if he doesn't pull off more victories down the home stretch, which is why Indiana is important for him. His campaign points out that Sanders has proven to be a strong closer, consistently outpacing final poll prognostications.

-- Douglas Perry