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Trump and Clinton edge further out front after clinching key Florida primary Trump and Clinton edge further out front after clinching key Florida primary
(about 3 hours later)
Hillary Clinton crushed hopes of a Bernie Sanders surge on a night of resounding wins that should allow her to focus increasingly on the looming challenge from Donald Trump in November. Hillary Clinton crushed hopes of a Bernie Sanders surge on a night of sweeping wins that saw her shift her gaze to the prospect of a bitter battle for the White House with Donald Trump.
Voters in the midwest battleground states of Ohio and Illinois backed Clinton on Tuesday night as Sanders was unable to build on last week’s surprise win in Michigan. As Clinton looked set to take all five states in the Democratic contest on Tuesday, Trump also tightened his grip on the Republican race, on the brink of winning four out of five contests and forcing Marco Rubio to suspend his campaign after inflicting a bruising defeat in his home state of Florida.
More huge wins for Clinton in Florida and North Carolina meant she was set to end the night winning four out of five states and claiming the vast majority of delegates up for grabs, with Sanders apparently heading for a narrow win in Missouri. In the Democratic race, Sanders could not capitalise on last week’s surprise win in Michigan as Clinton won by a distance in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, before grinding out a much narrower win in Illinois. A recount in two small precincts of Jackson County left the Missouri race on a knife edge, with Clinton leading by just 1,531 votes with 99.9% of the votes in.
Clinton told cheering supporters at a victory rally in West Palm Beach: “This is another Super Tuesday for our campaign … we are moving closer to securing the Democratic party nomination and winning this election in November.” In her victory speech, Clinton increasingly turned to face Trump head-on, having secured crucial support from working-class Democrats in the industrial midwest who had shown signs of defecting to the more radical promise of Sanders.
In the Republican race, Trump won heavily in Florida, crushing Marco Rubio in his home state and ending the senator’s his presidential hopes. “This is shaping up to be one of the most consequential campaigns of our lifetime,” she said. “The next president will sit down at that desk and start taking decisions that will affect the lives and livelihoods of everyone in this country, indeed everyone on the planet.
Related: Marco Rubio ends presidential bid after Donald Trump takes Florida “Our next commander in chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it – engage our allies, not alienate them,” added Clinton in a direct challenge to Trump. “When we hear a candidate for president call for rounding up 12 million immigrants, barring all Muslims from entering the United States, when he embraces torture, that doesn’t make him strong, it makes him wrong.”
Ohio governor John Kasich placed a small speed bump in Trump’s path by winning in his own home state and scooping up its 66 delegates. But Trump ended the night in the ascendancy as he recorded more wins in Illinois and North Carolina. Her night began with expected but overwhelming victories in Florida and North Carolina – completing her clean sweep of the south – but it was a 14-point victory over Sanders in Ohio and a narrow 50.3% to 48.8% win in Illinois that allowed her to pull almost 300 delegates ahead.
The Republican race is now down to three candidates: Trump, Kasich and the Texas senator Ted Cruz. Trump substantially cleared his path toward the Republican nomination, with the contest now down to only three candidates. Conservative rival Ted Cruz was denied any wins from the five states up for grabs. However, a recount was suspended for the night in Jackson County, Missouri, where only 1,726 votes divided Trump and Cruz in a winner-takes-all state which has 52 delegates at stake.
For Clinton, her target was clear. Tearing into Trump, she accused the Republican frontrunner of orchestrating a campaign founded on bigotry and bluster. Only John Kasich raised hopes of denying Trump outright victory in the nomination race after winning in his home state of Ohio. For those Republicans desperate to halt the billionaire television celebrity, the best hope now lies in denying him enough delegates to win a simple majority, forcing him into a contested party convention this July.
“This is shaping up to be one of the most consequential campaigns of our lifetime,” she said. “The next president will sit down at that desk and start taking decisions that will affect the lives and livelihoods of everyone in this country, indeed everyone on the planet.” Trump, who is now more than half way to securing the delegates he needs to avoid this scenario, was in combative mood at a victory celebration in Florida.
Clinton added: “Our next commander in chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it – engage our allies, not alienate them. When we hear a candidate for president call for rounding up 12 million immigrants, barring all Muslims from entering the United States, when he embraces torture, that doesn’t make him strong, it makes him wrong.” “There is great anger, believe me, there is great anger,” he warned as he explained why he thought so many first-time voters and independents were flocking to his stark anti-establishment message.
Clinton’s night began with big victories in Florida and North Carolina – completing her clean sweep of the south. Minutes later, Associated Press also projected a crucial Clinton win in Ohio. Growing violence at Trump rallies has dominated media coverage in the days leading up to voting and led Barack Obama to warn that the xenophobic rhetoric risked tarnishing “America’s brand” internationally.
Results projected by the Associated Press as soon as polls closed at 8pm ET showed Clinton winning the Florida Democratic primary handsomely. With 98% of the votes in, she was 31 points ahead of Bernie Sanders. Arguing that pluralism and tolerance were core American values during remarks on Capitol Hill, Obama warned: “Why would we want to tarnish that?”
The news was greeted at her victory party in West Palm Beach by raucous chants of “I’m with her!” as a Jennifer Lopez song blared. Crowds at the Rubio rally in Miami gasped at the news of his defeat – by 18 points –and broke into boos and chants of: “We want Marco!”
Donald Trump was also immediately projected as the Florida winner. With 98% of the results in, Trump had an unassailable 18-point lead over Rubio.
Crowds at the Rubio rally in Miami gasped at the news and broke into boos and chants of: “We want Marco!”
Rubio soon emerged to congratulate Trump on a “big win” but decried the politics of anger and resentment and warned: “America is in the middle of a real political storm, a tsunami.”Rubio soon emerged to congratulate Trump on a “big win” but decried the politics of anger and resentment and warned: “America is in the middle of a real political storm, a tsunami.”
Bowing out of the race, Rubio said: “This may not have been the year for a hopeful and optimistic” candidate.Bowing out of the race, Rubio said: “This may not have been the year for a hopeful and optimistic” candidate.
Rubio’s exit from the race deprives establishment Republicans of the candidate they viewed as the palatable alternative to Trump. Whether they would be willing to rally around Cruz, the disliked Texas senator, remained unclear.
North Carolina was next, last in a slew of southern states to have dominated the early primary season and helped both Clinton and Trump take commanding leads over their rivals.North Carolina was next, last in a slew of southern states to have dominated the early primary season and helped both Clinton and Trump take commanding leads over their rivals.
Strong support among African American voters once again helped Clinton beat Sanders in the south – she led North Carolina by a margin of 15 points with 74% of votes counted.Strong support among African American voters once again helped Clinton beat Sanders in the south – she led North Carolina by a margin of 15 points with 74% of votes counted.
Trump narrowly held off Cruz in North Carolina and then chalked up Illinois with a margin of 12 points with half of the votes in. Trump narrowly held off Cruz in North Carolina and then chalked up Illinois by eight points from Cruz.
Kasich was bullish after his victory in Ohio, but Cruz insisted he was now in a two-man race with Trump. However, Trump who has won 18 out of 27 states, is in a dominant position. Kasich was bullish after his victory in Ohio, but Cruz insisted he was now in a two-man race with Trump. However, Trump who won 18 out of the first 27 states, is in a dominant position.
Democrats are increasingly focused on the challenge of stopping Trump from making it all the way to the White House.
Without mentioning the celebrity billionaire by name, Barack Obama suggested on Tuesday that recent ugly scenes and xenophobic rhetoric on the campaign trail risked damaging “America’s brand”.
Arguing that pluralism and tolerance were core American values during remarks on Capitol Hill, Obama warned: “Why would we want to tarnish that?”
The biggest question in the Republican race now appears to be whether Trump can bag the 1,237 delegates needed to win the party’s nomination outright and avoid a potentially ugly contested convention in Cleveland in July.The biggest question in the Republican race now appears to be whether Trump can bag the 1,237 delegates needed to win the party’s nomination outright and avoid a potentially ugly contested convention in Cleveland in July.
Having secured all 99 delegates from Florida, Trump was set to be the night’s big winner, but he could yet fall short, raising the prospect of the party establishment attempting to snatch the nomination from him.Having secured all 99 delegates from Florida, Trump was set to be the night’s big winner, but he could yet fall short, raising the prospect of the party establishment attempting to snatch the nomination from him.
Such a move would risk provoking an outpouring of anger from his supporters and would be particularly difficult if he is only 100 or so delegates short and clearly ahead of his rivals. Earlier on Tuesday, House speaker Paul Ryan said: “The Republican primary voters are going to make the decision. This is not our decision to make.” Related: How a contested convention could allow Republicans to snatch Trump's crown
Before last night’s results, Trump had amassed 469 delegates, or 44% of those pledged so far. Tuesday’s contests gave him at least 619. Such a move would risk provoking an outpouring of anger from his supporters and would be particularly difficult if he is only 100 or so delegates short and clearly ahead of his rivals.
Rubio’s exit from the race deprives establishment Republicans of the candidate they viewed as the palatable alternative to Trump. Whether they would be willing to rally around Cruz, the disliked Texas senator, remained unclear. Perhaps the most disappointed figure of the night was Sanders whose recent win in Michigan had rekindled some hopes on the left that his anti-corporate message could resonate in the rustbelt, but instead Sanders was left near-speechless at a rally in Arizona where he did not even mention the night’s heavy defeats.
Clinton’s campaign has emphasized its continued lead in delegate support and downplayed speculation about what it would mean if Sanders is successful in the midwest. As of Tuesday she has at least 1,021 delegates to Sanders’s 678, but with superdelegates – party luminaries who can vote how they want – included she has 1,488, over half way to the 2,383 delegates she needs. After Clinton’s string of victories on Tuesday, her campaign said her lead would be “very hard to overtake” but stopped short of saying it was insurmountable. The campaign also refused to call on Sanders to exit the race.
“From the beginning, we have approached this nomination as a battle for delegates,” campaign manager Robby Mook said on a conference call with reporters the day after Clinton’s unexpected loss in Michigan last week. “Last night really showed why that approach made sense.” “It is not up to us when the Democratic primary ends,” Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton campaign’s communications director, told reporters after Clinton’s speech in Florida. “But we believe that it is a very strong lead, twice the size of any lead Senator Obama had as a candidate over then Senator Clinton.”
While maintaining a competitive race with Sanders, Clinton has already begun to turn her attention to Trump. Palmieri added: “When she ran against president Obama in 2008 she stayed in until the end. She said that she would never call on someone to drop out.”
“I think the numbers are adding up on in our favor, the number of delegates will continue to increase, so I am going to keep working as hard as I can,” Clinton told reporters outside a polling station in North Carolina on Tuesday. “But I think it is important that we really do focus on the very dangerous path that Donald Trump has laid out here, the kind of bluster and bigotry and bullying that he’s exemplifying on the campaign trail is disturbing to I think the majority of Americans.” In her speech, Clinton recalled her 2008 primary night victory in Ohio, which her campaign hailed then as a turning point in the hard-fought race against then Senator Barack Obama.
“Eight years ago, on the night of the Ohio primary I said I was running for everyone who’s ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out; for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up; for everyone who works hard and never gives up. Well that is still true,” Clinton said in her speech.