A tale of two parties: Democrats giddy over Hillary Clinton's 'best week ever' while Republicans fret about Donald Trump's traction
Democratic front runner looks certain to earn her party's nomination after 'her best week ever' - but her likely opponent is far less clear.
The US presidential race became a tale of two parties on different trajectories after a pivotal week: Hillary Clinton tightened her grip on the Democratic nomination while Republican concern is reaching new heights as some officials consider an effort to stop Donald Trump - with no obvious fallback option.
Clinton was cheered by excited Democrats a day after her strong performance during an 11-hour Republican-led probe of the 2012 Benghazi attacks in Libya. The former secretary of state's high marks for the congressional hearing capped a week that saw off three of her five party rivals - none more important than Vice-President Joe Biden who said he would not be joining the race.
"She's gone in the course of two weeks from being a wobbly front runner to the almost-certain nominee," said Fergus Cullen, a former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman. The Republican field, Cullen said, is more splintered than ever.
Read more: Jeb Bush takes drastic action in bid to resuscitate flatlining campaign for Republican nomination for presidency
As Democrats showered a confident Clinton with fresh praise, one-time Republican front runner Jeb Bush announced deep cuts to his campaign staff. The former Florida governor slashed the payroll by 40 per cent and downsized his Miami headquarters in a move that sounded alarms for Republican officials who long assumed Bush would shake off his slow start and ultimately emerge as their party's nominee.
Some Republicans have intensified calls for an organised campaign to take down their dominant candidate, Trump, fearing the tough-talking reality television star is doing lasting damage to the party's standing among women and minority voters - Hispanics in particular - heading into next year's election.
The Club for Growth, an influential Washington-based group focused on fiscal conservatism, seized on fresh polls in Iowa suggesting that Trump's front runner status could be in jeopardy.
"Trump loses when voters know the truth about him," club president David McIntosh said Friday, noting that his group recently spent US$1 million on anti-Trump television ads. "He's not a conservative, and he's really just the worst kind of politician."
