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| March 15 primaries: Will voting in 5 states cement front-runners? | March 15 primaries: Will voting in 5 states cement front-runners? |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MIAMI — Voters are casting ballots in the five states across the Midwest and Southeast holding primaries Tuesday — contests that could shore up the two front-runners or breathe new life into the lagging campaigns of their challengers. | MIAMI — Voters are casting ballots in the five states across the Midwest and Southeast holding primaries Tuesday — contests that could shore up the two front-runners or breathe new life into the lagging campaigns of their challengers. |
| On the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) was working to pull off more come-from-behind wins in states where voters feel damaged by globalization, allowing him to claim momentum from Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of state enjoys a sizable lead in delegates but has not been able to seal the nomination. | On the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) was working to pull off more come-from-behind wins in states where voters feel damaged by globalization, allowing him to claim momentum from Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of state enjoys a sizable lead in delegates but has not been able to seal the nomination. |
| Among Republicans, the day’s contests offered a chance for billionaire Donald Trump’s remaining rivals to finally slow his march to the nomination with two winner-take-all contests that have particularly high stakes for a pair of favorite sons, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio. | |
| [7 Trump- and Sanders-infused primaries that are worth watching today] | [7 Trump- and Sanders-infused primaries that are worth watching today] |
| Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, meanwhile, hoped to pick up delegates in contests in Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri and retain his position as Trump’s chief Republican rival. | Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, meanwhile, hoped to pick up delegates in contests in Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri and retain his position as Trump’s chief Republican rival. |
| Trump scored an early win Tuesday morning, swamping the tiny vote in a Republican caucus held in the Northern Mariana Islands, according to a tweet from the executive director of the GOP in the U.S. territory. | Trump scored an early win Tuesday morning, swamping the tiny vote in a Republican caucus held in the Northern Mariana Islands, according to a tweet from the executive director of the GOP in the U.S. territory. |
| The win earned Trump nine delegates, only a tiny sliver of the 367 delegates at stake Tuesday. But should the chaotic Republican race lead to a contested national convention in July, the win could prove important because of arcane party rules that require candidates to have won a majority of delegates in at least eight states or territories. The win was Trump’s eighth of the nominating season. | |
| A new Washington Post analysis showed that a handful of independent groups have pummeled Trump with $35.5 million in hard-hitting negative television ads and other attacks in the days leading into Tuesday’s vote. But it was unclear if the ads would dent his popularity. | |
| In Ohio, where 66 delegates are on the line, Kasich held a slim lead in recent polls. After casting a ballot for himself, he told reporters that his neighbors and family have been proud of his positive campaign. “I just want to be a good guy, helping my country.” | |
| But, referencing Trump, he added that going forward he would be forced “to talk about some of the deep concerns I have about the way this campaign has been run by some others — by one other in particular.” | |
| The day’s biggest prize is Florida, where 99 delegates are at stake and which could be the last stand for Rubio, a candidate once touted as “the Republican savior” who more recently has badly trailed Trump in polls even in his home state. | The day’s biggest prize is Florida, where 99 delegates are at stake and which could be the last stand for Rubio, a candidate once touted as “the Republican savior” who more recently has badly trailed Trump in polls even in his home state. |
| [Early voting: Nearly 2 million people have already voted in Florida] | [Early voting: Nearly 2 million people have already voted in Florida] |
| Rubio planned to blanket the airwaves of South Florida on Tuesday morning, appealing on English and Spanish-language television and radio stations to the communities that propelled his political rise through the West Miami City Commission, to the Florida House of Representatives and into the U.S. Senate. | Rubio planned to blanket the airwaves of South Florida on Tuesday morning, appealing on English and Spanish-language television and radio stations to the communities that propelled his political rise through the West Miami City Commission, to the Florida House of Representatives and into the U.S. Senate. |
| “Tomorrow we’re in Utah, but today is about Florida,” he said on WFOR-TV in a live interview before the sun came up. | |
| Rubio, who is scheduled to appear Tuesday night at Florida International University, where he has been a part-time professor, expressed optimism that Florida voters, who know him best, will provide a surprise win. | Rubio, who is scheduled to appear Tuesday night at Florida International University, where he has been a part-time professor, expressed optimism that Florida voters, who know him best, will provide a surprise win. |
| “This is not a race for circuit judge. People are going to support — they know who the candidates are, they’ve been watching for a while,” he said. | “This is not a race for circuit judge. People are going to support — they know who the candidates are, they’ve been watching for a while,” he said. |
| And he repeated recent remarks that it’s “getting harder every day” to pledge he will support Trump, should the businessman win the Republican nomination. | And he repeated recent remarks that it’s “getting harder every day” to pledge he will support Trump, should the businessman win the Republican nomination. |
| “I’m just disgusted by some of the things he’s doing in his campaign, to be honest with you. I know people are angry, I know people are frustrated, but leaders don’t take advantage of anger and frustration. They address it, but then they say here’s how we’re going to solve it. He’s spurring it on,” he said. | “I’m just disgusted by some of the things he’s doing in his campaign, to be honest with you. I know people are angry, I know people are frustrated, but leaders don’t take advantage of anger and frustration. They address it, but then they say here’s how we’re going to solve it. He’s spurring it on,” he said. |
| A more subdued Trump appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, walking back previous comments that he was “looking into” paying the legal fees of a man who sucker-punched a protester at a Trump rally in North Carolina last week. | |
| “I didn’t say that. I haven’t looked at it yet. And nobody’s asked me to pay for fees,” Trump said. “I never said I was going to pay for fees.” | “I didn’t say that. I haven’t looked at it yet. And nobody’s asked me to pay for fees,” Trump said. “I never said I was going to pay for fees.” |
| On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Trump told host Chuck Todd that he had “instructed my people to look into” paying the man’s bills. But asked Tuesday whether paying legal fees for violent rally attendees would encourage more violence, Trump responded: “Well, maybe so. And maybe that’s why I wouldn’t do it. I don’t condone violence at all. I looked and I watched and I’m going to make a decision, but I certainly don’t condone violence. And maybe you’re right. And maybe that’s why I wouldn’t do it.” | |
| [Trump, protesters and legal fees: A history] | |
| Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been cast in early voting in Florida. Turnout was light in the early morning at a polling place near the airport in Miami. But the voters who showed up sounded passionate about their choices. | Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been cast in early voting in Florida. Turnout was light in the early morning at a polling place near the airport in Miami. But the voters who showed up sounded passionate about their choices. |
| Luis Joaquin Alonso, 79, said he voted for Trump, citing concerns about the deficit and the desire for someone to take on the political establishment. | Luis Joaquin Alonso, 79, said he voted for Trump, citing concerns about the deficit and the desire for someone to take on the political establishment. |
| “I love this country,” he said, adding that Trump does, too, and that’s why he is running. | |
| “This guy has got plenty of money. He doesn’t need [more] money,” Alonso said. | |
| Alonso said Rubio is “too young” to be president. | Alonso said Rubio is “too young” to be president. |
| Among Democrats, multiple polls in the days leading up to Tuesday’s contests showed Sanders closing in on Clinton in three states in the industrial Midwest — Missouri, Illinois and Ohio. But polls show Clinton far ahead in Florida and in North Carolina, setting up the possibility of an outcome parallel to last week’s contests, when Sanders scored a narrow and surprising victory in Michigan, yet Clinton came away with a widened lead in the delegate count because of her resounding victory in Mississippi. | Among Democrats, multiple polls in the days leading up to Tuesday’s contests showed Sanders closing in on Clinton in three states in the industrial Midwest — Missouri, Illinois and Ohio. But polls show Clinton far ahead in Florida and in North Carolina, setting up the possibility of an outcome parallel to last week’s contests, when Sanders scored a narrow and surprising victory in Michigan, yet Clinton came away with a widened lead in the delegate count because of her resounding victory in Mississippi. |
| In other words, Clinton appears poised to continue her progress toward the Democratic nomination, but ever more bloodied by her battles with Sanders. | In other words, Clinton appears poised to continue her progress toward the Democratic nomination, but ever more bloodied by her battles with Sanders. |
| Clinton’s campaign Tuesday announced that she has been endorsed by the mother of Michael Brown, the teenager whose 2014 shooting by police in Ferguson, Mo., brought more attention to officer-involved slayings of unarmed black men. | |
| The endorsement came as Clinton has appeared to lose ground to Sanders in Missouri, with the most recent poll showing an effective tie. | The endorsement came as Clinton has appeared to lose ground to Sanders in Missouri, with the most recent poll showing an effective tie. |
| “When I lost my son, I lost my world. ‘Big Mike’ was a big boy, but he was my baby boy, my only child, and his life was brutally taken from me,” Lezley McSpadden wrote in her endorsement statement. | |
| “This election season, we are at battle for the soul of our nation,” McSpadden said. “If we want to continue to build on the progress made by our country, we need a president who is ready to lead — and I trust Hillary Clinton.” | |
| McSpadden was among a group of African American mothers who met privately with Clinton last year, and Clinton has made the mothers’ stories a regular part of her political speeches, as she talks about the need for criminal justice reform and better gun control. | |
| Polls showed Sanders competitive with Clinton in other states voting Tuesday as well. The only state where they showed Clinton with a sizable lead was Florida, the most delegate-rich contest. | Polls showed Sanders competitive with Clinton in other states voting Tuesday as well. The only state where they showed Clinton with a sizable lead was Florida, the most delegate-rich contest. |
| [How Bernie Sanders is hijacking the Democratic Party to be elected as an independent] | [How Bernie Sanders is hijacking the Democratic Party to be elected as an independent] |
| Florida’s primary is closed, meaning that independents, who have sided with Sanders in large numbers in other states, won’t be able to participate. The state is also home to large numbers of seniors, who have gravitated far more heavily toward Clinton elsewhere. | |
| In Miami, Luis Caldera, 61, said he voted for Clinton. He called her “the best option” and said her experience and his familiarity with her career set her apart. | In Miami, Luis Caldera, 61, said he voted for Clinton. He called her “the best option” and said her experience and his familiarity with her career set her apart. |
| But on the campaign trail Monday, Sanders continued to hammer Clinton, as he did in Michigan, on the issue of trade — arguing that he has been a far stronger ally in the fight to protect manufacturing jobs in Ohio. | But on the campaign trail Monday, Sanders continued to hammer Clinton, as he did in Michigan, on the issue of trade — arguing that he has been a far stronger ally in the fight to protect manufacturing jobs in Ohio. |
| “You in Ohio and in the Midwest know about the disastrous trade policies,” he told an audience packed into a theater in Akron, where a once-thriving tire industry has experienced a major decline. | “You in Ohio and in the Midwest know about the disastrous trade policies,” he told an audience packed into a theater in Akron, where a once-thriving tire industry has experienced a major decline. |
| “It took me about 13 seconds to figure out that NAFTA was written by corporate America, that its goal was to shut down factories and plants in America, to move abroad to find cheap labor, and bring those products back into America. It didn’t take a PhD to figure that out,” Sanders said. | “It took me about 13 seconds to figure out that NAFTA was written by corporate America, that its goal was to shut down factories and plants in America, to move abroad to find cheap labor, and bring those products back into America. It didn’t take a PhD to figure that out,” Sanders said. |
| Clinton, meanwhile, appeared to take sharper aim at Trump, the Republican front-runner, than at Sanders. | Clinton, meanwhile, appeared to take sharper aim at Trump, the Republican front-runner, than at Sanders. |
| At an MSNBC town hall in Springfield, Ill., Clinton said Trump is evoking the kind of mob violence “that led to lynching.” | At an MSNBC town hall in Springfield, Ill., Clinton said Trump is evoking the kind of mob violence “that led to lynching.” |
| “When you are inciting mob violence, which is what Trump is doing in those clips, there’s a lot of memories that people have,” she told Chris Matthews. “People remember mob violence that led to lynching. People remember mob violence that led to people being shot, being grabbed, being mistreated.” | “When you are inciting mob violence, which is what Trump is doing in those clips, there’s a lot of memories that people have,” she told Chris Matthews. “People remember mob violence that led to lynching. People remember mob violence that led to people being shot, being grabbed, being mistreated.” |
| Clinton also made campaign stops Monday in Chicago and Charlotte. | Clinton also made campaign stops Monday in Chicago and Charlotte. |
| There have been several signs that the unexpectedly competitive contest with Sanders has taken a toll on Clinton. | There have been several signs that the unexpectedly competitive contest with Sanders has taken a toll on Clinton. |
| She regularly logs 18-hour days on the trail, mixing retail campaigning — downing a Guinness beer in an Irish bar ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, for example — with rallies and a seemingly never-ending stream of town hall meetings and debates. | She regularly logs 18-hour days on the trail, mixing retail campaigning — downing a Guinness beer in an Irish bar ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, for example — with rallies and a seemingly never-ending stream of town hall meetings and debates. |
| That pace may help explain a series of gaffes that have put Clinton in hot water with her supporters and created problems that could haunt her in the general election if she wins the nomination. | That pace may help explain a series of gaffes that have put Clinton in hot water with her supporters and created problems that could haunt her in the general election if she wins the nomination. |
| Friday morning, the day of Nancy Reagan’s funeral, Clinton mistakenly praised the former first lady for “starting a conversation” about HIV/AIDS. Clinton quickly apologized, but the backlash from the LGBT community was intense, despite efforts by the campaign to reassure them that she had made an honest error. | Friday morning, the day of Nancy Reagan’s funeral, Clinton mistakenly praised the former first lady for “starting a conversation” about HIV/AIDS. Clinton quickly apologized, but the backlash from the LGBT community was intense, despite efforts by the campaign to reassure them that she had made an honest error. |
| The next day in St. Louis, Clinton suggested that Sanders had been absent during her 1993 push for health-care reform. On Twitter, a Sanders aide quickly blasted out an archival video showing the senator standing right behind Clinton during a news conference about the effort. | The next day in St. Louis, Clinton suggested that Sanders had been absent during her 1993 push for health-care reform. On Twitter, a Sanders aide quickly blasted out an archival video showing the senator standing right behind Clinton during a news conference about the effort. |
| Twenty-four hours after that, Clinton answered a question about coal country with a cringe-worthy response: “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, right?” | Twenty-four hours after that, Clinton answered a question about coal country with a cringe-worthy response: “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, right?” |
| On Monday, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon tried to clean up after Clinton, saying Republicans were trying to twist her words to suggest she showed a disregard for coal workers. | On Monday, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon tried to clean up after Clinton, saying Republicans were trying to twist her words to suggest she showed a disregard for coal workers. |
| “Obviously she was making the exact opposite point: that we have to take proactive steps to make sure coal workers, their families and their communities get not just the benefits they’ve earned, but also the future they deserve,” he said. “Any suggestions otherwise are false.” | “Obviously she was making the exact opposite point: that we have to take proactive steps to make sure coal workers, their families and their communities get not just the benefits they’ve earned, but also the future they deserve,” he said. “Any suggestions otherwise are false.” |
| Back on the Republican side, Kasich, who has said he will drop out of the Republican contest if he doesn’t win Tuesday’s primary in his home state of Ohio, made two appearances there Monday with Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee. It was the first time Romney had stepped out on the trail since his recent broadside against Trump. | Back on the Republican side, Kasich, who has said he will drop out of the Republican contest if he doesn’t win Tuesday’s primary in his home state of Ohio, made two appearances there Monday with Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee. It was the first time Romney had stepped out on the trail since his recent broadside against Trump. |
| Romney, who has pledged to support any GOP candidate who can defeat Trump, stopped short of endorsing Kasich — but had plenty of nice things to say about him during an event at an airplane museum in North Canton, Ohio, where the backdrop included a fighter jet, a helicopter and a “Patton”-size American flag. | Romney, who has pledged to support any GOP candidate who can defeat Trump, stopped short of endorsing Kasich — but had plenty of nice things to say about him during an event at an airplane museum in North Canton, Ohio, where the backdrop included a fighter jet, a helicopter and a “Patton”-size American flag. |
| “You’re the ones who are going to decide if he becomes the next president of the United States,” Romney said. “You look at this guy, and unlike the other people running, he has a real track record. He has the kind of record that you want in Washington. That’s why I’m convinced that you’re going to do the right thing tomorrow.” | “You’re the ones who are going to decide if he becomes the next president of the United States,” Romney said. “You look at this guy, and unlike the other people running, he has a real track record. He has the kind of record that you want in Washington. That’s why I’m convinced that you’re going to do the right thing tomorrow.” |
| Wagner reported from Akron, Ohio, and Helderman reported from Washington. Ed O’Keefe in Miami, Anne Gearan and Matea Gold in Washington and Jose Del Real in Hickory, N.C., also contributed. |