Ted Cruz surprised political pundits Wednesday morning when he scored his third Super Tuesday victory by winning the Alaska Republican caucuses.
Cruz’s triumph in the Last Frontier, which moves him into second place in the race to secure Republican Party’s nomination, comes after his chief primary opponent, billionaire Donald Trump, was declared the winner Tuesday evening in GOP election battles in Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia and Massachusetts.
Trump’s loss in Alaska comes despite having secured an endorsement from the state’s former governor, Sarah Palin. Some in media predicted that her support would sway Alaska in Trump’s favor, but this did not happen.
However, even with the Alaska win, Cruz and fellow GOP rival Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., trailed far behind the casino tycoon Tuesday evening.
Along with his victory in Alaska, the Texas senator took only Oklahoma and his home state of Texas. Rubio went on to claim a single victory in Minnesota, finally breaking the narrative that he hasn’t won a single state in the 2016 GOP primary.
The billionaire businessman, for his part, picked up states all along the East Coast and took in far more delegates than any of the other GOP candidates.
The winner of the Alaska Republican caucuses is awarded 28 delegates, giving Cruz a total of 226, according to the New York Times.
Rubio meanwhile has 110 delegates
Trump currently sits on a delegate count of 319.
A GOP candidate needs a total of 1,237 delegates to the win the party’s nomination.
