Donald Trump didn’t quite extinguish all doubt that he will be the next Republican nominee for president, but he took a flame thrower to the naysayers.

Trump appeared on track to take more than 60 percent of the delegates up for grabs, which would put him about 56 percent of the way to the magic number of 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination. About 60 percent of the delegates have now been allocated.

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Trump won the biggest prize of the night, Florida and its 99 delegates, and carried at least two of the other four states with nominating contests.

If he hangs on to Missouri, which he was leading late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning in a very tight race against Sen. Ted Cruz, he will come away with a wider lead in delegates. His only blemish was in Ohio, where native son Gov. John Kasich won and pocketed all 66 delegates.

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Not only did Trump win big in most places, but Cruz was in danger of failing to win any state. He was running behind in Missouri, which offered his best hope considering that he has won or performed well in bordering states. Trump likely benefitted from rules that allow independents to cast ballots.

Trump’s victory was solid in Illinois, with Cruz and Kasich essentially splitting the anti-Trump vote. The results did nothing to bolster the contention that Cruz can perform well outside his base in the South and West. If Cruz has any hope of reeling in Trump, he will have to figure out a way to win big, diverse states that dominate the rest of the calendar.

While Trump was winning narrowly in Missouri, his lead was broad. He showed strength in all parts of the state.

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Trump has just enough speed bumps Tuesday to give Cruz an outside chance of at least preventing him from winning outright before the Republican National Convention. Cruz added to his delegate haul and Kasich’s victory in Ohio denied the front-runner its 66 delegates.

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And Trump’s victory in winner-take-all Florida had the silver lining for Cruz of knocking Sen. Marco Rubio out of the race. That means Cruz gets one step closer to the head-to-head contest against Trump that he thinks he can win.

But Cruz rapidly is running out of time and has almost no margin for error.

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