Trump pivots to general election fight as last rival Kasich bows out

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Trump campaign: 'We're in a great position' against Clinton

Senior adviser talks shift to general election strategy as presumptive GOP nominee

Donald Trump pivoted Wednesday to an expected general election brawl with Hillary Clinton, as he watched the political bramble in his path to the Republican nomination clear away entirely – with last remaining rival John Kasich joining Ted Cruz in suspending his campaign.

The Ohio governor dropped out of the race Wednesday afternoon.

Trump, now the presumptive nominee and no longer facing the prospect of a bruising open convention, has effectively crushed any lingering bids to halt his outsider primary campaign, which has defied the odds and political convention ever since his entry into the race less than a year ago.

Trump turns next to the weighty task of uniting a fractured party and told Fox News Wednesday morning he plans to focus on November.

“We’re going to unify the party,” he said. “I think we’re going to beat Hillary Clinton.”

The coming weeks will test Trump as he recalibrates his campaign – and potentially his tone – in preparation for that fight. While one recent poll gave him the edge over Clinton, most have shown Trump trailing her in hypothetical general election match-ups.

He told Fox News he’s building up staff and vetting potential running mates as he prepares for November.

“I’m considering a lot of people [for running mate], to be honest,” he told Fox News. “We want to have great at every level.”

In a shift, Trump also said he “most likely” will look to raise money for the general election, though he said it would be more for the party and congressional candidates than for himself. Such a move could help ease tensions with other wings of the party, whose leaders have been sharply divided over Trump's rise since the beginning.

Trump also told The New York Times that his VP selection committee will include former rival Ben Carson.

Kasich and Cruz’s decision to suspend their campaigns following a crushing defeat in Indiana allows Trump to leave the raucous primary behind as he looks ahead.

Kasich’s campaign initially said the Ohio governor would remain in the race until a candidate reaches the necessary 1,237 delegates, but reversed course Wednesday. With Cruz and Kasich now ending their bids, Trump would appear on a glide path to hitting that mark, having vanquished everyone in what was once a 17-person field – and now within easy reach of the party mantle, an outcome some pundits and power-brokers once refused to even contemplate.

Cruz announced his decision to dismayed supporters in Indianapolis.

“I said 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,” Cruz said.

While a Trump-Clinton match-up now appears inevitable, Sen. Bernie Sanders kept the race alive on the Democratic side Tuesday night by pulling off a projected upset victory in Indiana.

“I understand that Secretary Clinton thinks that this campaign is over,” Sanders said, adding that he has “bad news” for her.

But on the GOP side, while Trump still could face drama at the party convention in Cleveland, GOP Chairman Reince Priebus declared him the "presumptive" nominee Tuesday night, as did Clinton.

Trump addressed supporters at Trump Tower Tuesday night after his seventh consecutive victory, in Indiana.

He called Cruz "one hell of a competitor," calling his decision to drop out of the race "brave."

He also said that while he wasn't sure if Cruz likes him, he praised his former rival as a "smart" and "tough guy" who had an "amazing future" ahead of him.

Trump then turned his attention to his likely Democratic opponent, saying, “We're going after Hillary Clinton."

The New York billionaire criticized Clinton's recent comments about the coal industry. He says she wants to close mines and he promised to help coal miners get back to work.

Cruz campaigned aggressively in Indiana, but could not overcome Trump.

“With a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign. … But hear me now, I am not suspending our fight for liberty," Cruz said.

Fox News projected Trump has the winner shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. ET.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Trump has 53.3 percent of the vote.

Tuesday’s primary capped off a bitter and personal clash between Trump and Cruz with each accusing the other of being an unhinged liar.

As soon as the race was called, Trump demanded Cruz exit the primary race, tweeting that “Lyin’ Ted” should “stop wasting time & money.”

Earlier in the day, Trump rehashed claims on Fox News that Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, appeared in a 1963 photograph with John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald -- citing a report first published by the National Enquirer.

"His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald's being, you know, shot," Trump said on Fox & Friends. "Nobody even brings it up; I mean they don't even talk about that."

Responding, Cruz called his father his "hero," and labeled Trump an "amoral" liar. He also described Trump as a “braggadocious, arrogant buffoon.”

Cruz went into the Indiana primary vowing to fight on even if he lost.

The Associated Press now has Trump leading the delegate count with 1,047. Cruz suspended his campaign with 565. Kasich still has 153. To secure the Republican nomination, a candidate must have 1,237 delegates.

According to the Associated Press delegate count, Clinton now has 2,202 delegates compared with Sanders’ 1,400. A Democratic candidate needs 2,383 delegates to get the party’s nomination.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.