Donald Trump projected to win crucial Indiana primary: report

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the United States, Feb. 1, 2016. (Xinhua file photo)

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- New York billionaire and former reality TV show host Donald Trump is projected to win the crucial Republican primary held Tuesday in the mid-western U.S. state of Indiana, increasing his likelihood of clinching the party's presidential nomination outright, a number of TV networks reported.

Meanwhile, Ted Cruz, Trump's competent rival for the Republican presidential candidacy, bowed out of the race after defeat in the GOP's Indiana primary on Tuesday.

If Trump secures the Republican Party's nomination, he will be the first major-party nominee who has not served in elected office since Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. Eisenhower was a five-star general and the commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II.

By 8 p.m.eastern time (0100 GMT Wednesday), one hour after the poll closed, partial results showed that Trump had won 53 percent of the vote, almost 20 points ahead of Cruz.

The victory in Indiana will make Trump's total delegate count exceed 1,000 with the likely prospect of reaching the magic number of 1,237 needed to avoid a contested party convention and dashing hopes for the anti-Trump movement to deny the real estate mogul the nomination.