The 2016 primaries and caucuses are well underway, with leading candidates halfway to the required number of delegates to win their parties’ nominations. Super Tuesday round three took place last night with five states—Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio—voting on a presidential nominee. CNN broadcast the results for about six hours last night. If you couldn’t manage to watch all of the votes trickle in, here’s what you missed during the primaries:
Donald Trump is still way ahead
Despite the violence and riots that erupted at his rally in Chicago, Trump managed to continue his winning streak. The New York Times results showed Trump winning Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina (Trump is leading in Missouri but his win isn’t finalized there). This brings Trump up to 661 delegates—more than half of the 1,237 needed to become the Republican nominee.
Hillary pulled in some major wins
Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri: We did it. And together, we’re going to win this nomination. pic.twitter.com/6uPW4X3RUJ
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 16, 2016
During the last week’s primaries, Hillary Clinton’s campaign took a pretty large blow once Sanders won in Michigan, edging closer to stealing her lead. Last night, Clinton made up for the losses by winning in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio. Like Trump, Clinton is more than halfway to winning the Democratic nomination, with 1,132 delegates out of the 2,383 needed to win.
According to the Economist, Clinton slammed Trump in her victory speech in Florida, saying, “When we hear a candidate for president call for rounding up 12 million immigrants, banning all Muslims from entering the United States, when he embraces torture, that doesn’t make him strong—it makes him wrong.” It seems that Clinton is shifting her attacks from Sanders to Trump, setting her sights on beating him out in November.
Bernie and Cruz didn’t win any of the states—but they came close
Although Sanders and Ted Cruz did not manage to decisively win in any states, they did come pretty close. The New York Times reported that Ted Cruz only lost by three percentage points in North Carolina. Meanwhile, Sanders lost by two percentage points in Illinois. Both candidates could still win in Missouri…
No one really knows what’s going on in Missouri
After the vote counting in Missouri was completed last night, Clinton and Trump lead over Sanders and Cruz, respectively, by only half a percentage point each. The margin of victory was so small that CNN did not announce a winner. Instead, the state is waiting on overseas absentee ballots and provisional ballots to come in over the next few days. As of 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Clinton lead Sanders 49.6 percent to 49.4 percent. Similarly, Trump was ahead of Cruz 40.8 percent to 40.6 percent. Ted Cruz could win as many as 27 more delegates if he wins after the rest of the ballots are counted. We should find out who won Missouri by Friday.
Marco Rubio suspended his campaign
Unfortunately, things did not go so smoothly for Marco Rubio. The 44-year-old suspended his campaign in a speech after losing by a huge margin in his home state of Florida. It “is not God’s plan that I be president in 2016 or maybe ever,” said Rubio according to the The Washington Post. Both Cruz and Trump congratulated the Florida senator on his campaign. The Economist reported that Ted Cruz said, “[He is someone who can] paint a picture and weave a tapestry about the promise of America like nobody else…we welcome you with open arms.”
John Kasich won Ohio
Game changer.
Join the fight. https://t.co/dy8KnZ122T pic.twitter.com/ATU2FyCuVw
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) March 16, 2016
While Florida promised an end to Rubio’s campaign, Ohio did the opposite for John Kasich. The Republican candidate won handily in his home state, earning 47 percent of the votes and 66 delegates. “To have people believe in you and to believe you can bring people together and strengthen our country, I have to thank the people of the great state of Ohio. I love you,” said Kasich according to Forbes. “I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land.”
Although Kasich does not have a chance of winning the nomination through delegates—he would need to win more than 100 percent of the remaining ones—he could make it to a broken convention and be an alternative to Donald Trump.
The next votes will take place on Tuesday, March 22 for the Idaho Democratic Caucus and the Arizona and Utah primaries. The nominations are still far from decided, so get out there and vote!