After Establishment millions of dollars spent to take him down, Donald Trump remains the Goliath in the GOP presidential race. But while his victories in Michigan and Mississippi show he is pressing full steam ahead, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is giving Trump a run for his money, winning in Idaho and ensuring Trump made little gain in his delegate lead.

The two primaries the front-runner won were open contests where Democrats can vote and which tend to benefit the billionaire businessman. But Trump fell hard to Cruz in Idaho, where the primary was open only to Republicans. Undoubtedly, Cruz’s campaign is gaining momentum as the candidate who can be the consensus alternative to Trump.

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Conveniently, Trump gave his remarks once he was the clear winner of the Mississippi and Michigan contests. Trump appeared more presidential than usual in his press conference after his two victories Tuesday night. His speech and tone were less fiery than usual and he addressed the importance of maintaining the Republican majority in Congress, addressing those who think GOP candidates should run from him.

“It is really important that our senators and our congressmen get re-elected,” said a victorious Trump. He also argued that he can be more presidential than anybody and called for unity within the Republican Party — specifically among the Establishment wing.

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Trump was favored to win both Michigan and Mississippi. And he did. Trump trounced his closest competitor, Sen. Ted Cruz, in Mississippi, where the base of voters is largely conservative and evangelical — a consistent pattern in the southern state contests. According to CNN exit polling, 49 percent of evangelical Christians supported Trump in comparison to 37 percent that broke for Cruz.

What’s more, white non-college graduates made up half of the voters in the Republican primary in Mississippi. Trump swept that demographic — one of his best — with 54 percent support.

But even though Trump won the Mississippi primary, he will be splitting the delegates with Cruz.

A major reason Trump won in Michigan is the lagging local economy and concerns about trade.

In Michigan, a prized possession with 59 delegates, Trump won the day — but again, he will have to split those delegates with Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Ted Cruz.

A major reason Trump won in Michigan is the lagging local economy and concerns about trade. Michigan voters are wary about jobs, especially since many of theirs have been shipped overseas — particularly in the auto industry. Exit polls show more than half of Michigan Republican voters agree with Trump’s stance that trade policies are taking jobs away from the United States.

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However, late-breaking anti-Trump sentiment was strong in Michigan, according to Fox News exit polling. Kasich won among late deciding voters picking up 35 percent of the vote, followed by Cruz with 31 percent. As it did during Saturday’s contests, recent increases in spending on anti-Trump advertising and greater focus on his liabilities by opponents like Mitt Romney may be having some effect.

The only candidate who didn’t benefit from the anti-Trump voters was Sen. Marco Rubio. The Florida senator had a painful night, unable to even meet a threshold of 15 percent of the vote in Mississippi and Michigan, as well as 20 percent in Idaho to secure any delegates at all. Adding salt to the wound, he placed fourth in Michigan, Mississippi, and third in Idaho. Undoubtedly, it becomes difficult for Rubio to make an argument to stay in the race, especially heading into his home state of Florida, where he is solidly trailing front-runner Trump in the polls.

An exasperated Rubio seemed in disbelief that he was losing so badly to Trump.

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Moving forward, Kasich and Cruz have strong arguments to stay in the race as the Trump alternatives, but if Kasich is unable to win Ohio on March 15, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on as he wouldn’t have won a single state and would be unable to clinch a victory in his home-state. Cruz remains the most viable Trump alternative after tonight’s contests, but there is no question that Trump remains the front-runner in the race.