Donald Trump is set to become the Republican presidential nominee after his closest rival pulled out of the race.

The billionaire property tycoon won the Indiana state Republican primary, leaving Ted Cruz without a realistic chance of winning the nomination.

Cruz had targeted Indiana as one of the states where he would have the best chance of turning the tide and catching Trump, “but the voters chose another path”, he told supporters in the midwestern state.

Ending his campaign, Cruz said:

“From the beginning I’ve said that I will continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory. Tonight, I’m sad to say it appears that path has been foreclosed.”

Hi departure from the race leaves Trump with a clear path to reach the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination and reduces the possibility of a contested convention, where the party hierarchy could have chosen a different candidate.

John Kasich has vowed to remain in the Republican race, but has only managed to win the primary in his home state of Ohio, and trails Trump by nearly 900 delegates.

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in Indiana’s Democratic primary, but still trails her by a long way in the number of delegates.