Donald Trump won a crushing victory in the Republican primary in his home state of New York, taking him closer to capturing enough delegates to win the party's White House nomination and avoid a contested convention in July, US networks projected. Trump's victory was a psychological boost for his campaign. He captured more than 50 percent of the vote in New York and was headed toward a big delegate haul in his home state, a commanding showing that keeps him on a path to the Republican nomination if he continues to win. He claimed at least half of the 95 delegates at stake, and was likely to add to his tally in individual congressional districts. The brash Manhattan billionaire whose controversial campaign has appalled the Republican establishment, spared no time in disparaging his evangelical rival Ted Cruz, saying that Cruz was "just about" mathematically eliminated from winning republican nomination. CNN said Trump won the Republican primary with 68.6 percent of the vote, streets ahead of his evangelical rival Ted Cruz on 13.6 percent and Ohio Governor John Kasich on 17.8 percent, with one percent of the vote counted. "We don't have much of a race anymore," he said during a victory rally in the lobby of the Manhattan tower bearing his name. He peppered his confident remarks with more references to the economy and other policy proposals than normal, reflecting the influence of a new team of advisers seeking to professionalize his campaign. Overall, Trump leads the Republican race with 804 delegates, ahead of Sen. Ted Cruz with 559 and Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 144. Securing the Republican nomination requires 1,237. For his part, Cruz panned Trump's win as little more than "a politician winning his home state," then implored Republicans to unite around his candidacy. "We must unite the Republican Party because doing so is the first step in uniting all Americans," Cruz said in remarks read off a teleprompter. Trump needed a strong showing to keep alive his chances of clinching the Republican nomination before the party's July convention — and to quiet critics who say the long primary season has exposed big deficiencies in his campaign effort. Having spent months relying on a slim staff, Trump has started hiring more seasoned campaign veterans. He acknowledges that bringing new people into his orbit may cause some strife, but says the moves were necessary at this stage of the race. Cruz is trying to stay close enough in the delegate count to push the Republican race to a contested convention. Cruz's campaign feels confident that it's mastered the complicated process of lining up individual delegates who could shift their support to the Texas senator after a first round of convention balloting. Kasich, the only other Republican left in the race, was seeking to add to his scant delegate total and keep up his bid to play a long-shot spoiler at the convention. Kasich has refused to end his campaign despite winning only his home state. Trump's political strength, though he boasts of drawing new members to the party, has left some Republicans concerned that his nomination could splinter the Republicans. Among Republican voters in New York, nearly 6 in 10 said the nominating contest is dividing the party, according to exit polls.
