‘Never Trump’ Movement Dealt Setback After Super Tuesday (Donald Trump)

Donald J. Trump’s series of victories on Super Tuesday complicated the “Never Trump” movement that has been percolating in corners of the Republican Party, leaving the Manhattan businessman’s remaining rivals struggling for new ways to halt his march to the presidential nomination.

After months of carefully plotting their primary state strategies, campaigns were left crunching numbers on Wednesday morning and dusting off history lessons about contested conventions and arcane ballot rules.

On the face of it, campaigning proceeded as usual on Wednesday, with Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio set to touch down in Kansas and Michigan for rallies; Kansas holds its caucuses on Saturday and Michigan has a primary on Tuesday. But the race was again upended after an evening when Mr. Trump gained still more momentum amid record Republican turnout, while Mr. Cruz stole some of Mr. Rubio’s recent thunder with wins in Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska.

Although the delegate hauls were still being counted, Mr. Trump wasleading the Republican packwith 316 on Wednesday morning, followed by Mr. Cruz with 226 and Mr. Rubio with 106. Trailing them were Gov. John R. Kasich with 25 and Ben Carson with eight. A candidate must get 1,237 delegates to capture the nomination.

For Mr. Rubio, the Florida senator who has managed only one victory, in Minnesota, the challenge remains how to shake off the “loser” label that now haunts him. In the wake of a disappointing night, he did his best to look ahead with confidence and said that his newly aggressive approach of standing up to Mr. Trump was showing signs of being effective.

“I’m happy to be an underdog, “ Mr. Rubio, who has argued that he could have won more states if the field of five candidates was less crowded, wrote in an email to supporters on Wednesday morning. “We’re excited to earn a victory in Florida in a couple weeks, and continue unmasking Donald Trump for the con artist he is all across the country.”

But with just one victory under his belt, Mr. Rubio faces an uphill climb convincing anyone that he is the strongest candidate to dislodge Mr. Trump, and the calls for him to drop out could soon grow louder. Some political analysts say Mr. Kasich’s presence in the race has held Mr. Rubio back, cutting into his delegate count, but the Ohio governor has vowed to make his home state a last stand on March 15, when Ohioans vote. Meanwhile, many wonder why Mr. Carson fights on, despite his negligible gains.