Dan Balz: “The GOP race is now commonly defined as a pair of contests. The first features Trump and Cruz fighting to emerge as the leading candidate in what is either defined as the anger lane, the populist conservative lane or the outsider lane… The other contest is the battle among more mainstream conservatives, representatives in one form or another of a nervous party establishment worried about protecting down-ballot candidates in the fall.”
“But nothing is quite as clean as all that. Trump occupies space largely defined by his unique candidacy. He is not a pure conservative in any sense of the word. Although his and Cruz’s support overlap, Trump is in a lane of his own. It remains to be seen whether his support is wide, deep and loyal or shallow and fickle in the face of any signs of weakness.”

