Ted Cruz dropped out of the White House race on Tuesday after suffering a crushing defeat in Indiana's primary, leaving the road wide open for Donald Trump to seize the Republican nomination.
"From the beginning, I've said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory. Tonight, I'm sorry to say, it appears that path has been foreclosed," the Texas senator told supporters in Indianapolis.
"Together, we left it all on the field in Indiana," said Cruz, whose withdrawal leaves the low-polling John Kasich as Trump's sole challenger.
"We gave it everything we've got, but the voters chose another path.
"And so with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign."
The latest contest in the 2016 White House race was seen as a day of reckoning for the "stop Trump" movement.
Cruz had been hoping to use Indiana as a firewall, blocking Trump from receiving the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination ahead of the Republican convention in Cleveland in July.
Until recently, the midwestern state was widely seen as favoring the Texas senator, who has performed well in primaries dominated by conservative and evangelical voters.
But Trump -- who has thus far defied political logic to lead the Republican race -- swept the arch-conservative senator aside.
Partial results showed the billionaire securing more than 52% of the vote, more than 15 points ahead of Cruz. Kasich languished at barely eight per cent.
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