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Marco Rubio exits presidential race after losing Florida
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton win primaries in Florida and North Carolina
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
MIAMI (CFP) — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has of Florida ended his presidential campaign after losing the Sunshine State to Donald Trump in the Republican primary.
Trump also carried North Carolina. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton also easily won both Florida and North Carolina.
The only Southerner now left in the race, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, failed to win any of the five March 15 contests. However, his losses to Trump were narrow in North Carolina and Illinois, and Missouri was a virtual tie, with Trump prevailing by less than 1,800 votes.
“After tonight, America now has a clear choice going forward,” Cruz told supporters in Houston. “Only two campaigns have a plausible path to the nomination, ours and Donald Trump’s. Nobody else has any mathematical possibility whatsoever.”
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio
Rubio, who won only two primary contests in Minnesota and Puerto Rico, had been banking on a win in his home state. But Trump carried 46 percent to Rubio’s 27 percent, with Cruz at 17 percent and Ohio Governor John Kasich at 7 percent.
Speaking to supporters in Miami after the television networks called the race for Trump, Rubio said “it is clear that while we are on the right side, this year we will not be on the winning side.”
“The fact that I’ve even come this far is evidence of how special America is,” he said.
A short time later, Cruz saluted Rubio’s campaign effort and made a direct pitch for his voters.
“To those who supported Marco, who worked so hard, we welcome you with open arms,” Cruz said.
In North Carolina, Trump took 40 percent to 37 percent for Cruz, 13 percent for Kasich and 8 percent for Rubio.
In the Democratic primary in Florida, Clinton rolled up 65 percent, to 33 percent for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The race in North Carolina was closer, with Clinton at 55 percent and Sanders at 41 percent.
With those wins, Clinton has now taken 13 of the 14 Southern states, with only West Virginia left. Trump has taken 11, losing only Texas and Oklahoma to Cruz.
Voters in West Virginia go to the polls May 10.
Trump, Clinton roll through Mississippi; Cruz wins in Idaho
Marco Rubio has another hard night, finishing last in two contests
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
JACKSON, Mississippi (CFP) — Donald Trump rolled through the Mississippi GOP primary, nearly capturing an outright majority in one of his strongest wins of the primary season.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton, as expected, cruised to a win in the Mississippi Democratic primary, besting U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont by a nearly 5-to-1 margin.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas won the Republican primary in Idaho, notching his sixth win in the GOP presidential contest. But it was another hard night for the other Southerner in the race, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who could finish no better than third in any of the four March 8 contests.
In addition to the Republican primaries in Mississippi and Idaho, Michigan held a primary, and Hawaii had a caucus; Trump won them both.
The only other Democratic contest was in Michigan, where Sanders defeated Clinton in the night’s biggest upset.
Candidate Donald Trump
In Mississippi, Trump took 47 percent of the vote, compared to 36 percent for Cruz. Rubio managed only a meager 5 percent, coming in fourth behind Governor John Kasich of Ohio.
Buoyed by the Magnolia State’s large African-American vote, Clinton won 83 percent to 17 percent for Sanders
In Michigan Cruz finished second and Rubio fourth. The Florida senator came in third place in Hawaii and Idaho.
Heading into pivotal March 15 contests in Florida and North Carolina, Trump has 458 delegates; Cruz, 359; Rubio, 151; and Kasich, 54. A total of 1,237 delegates are needed to win the nomination.
On the Democratic side, Clinton has 1,221 to 571 for Sanders, with 2,383 needed for the nomination.
Cruz wins in Maine, Kansas, but Trump scores in the South
Hillary Clinton carries Democratic primary in Louisiana
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
BATON ROUGE (CFP) — U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas bolstered his argument that he should be considered the alternative to Donald Trump in the GOP presidential race by scoring clear victories in Kansas and Maine.
However, Trump held on in the two Southern contests held on March 5, narrowly beating Cruz in a primary in Louisiana and a caucus in Kentucky.
Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton, as expected, won going away in Louisiana, a state with a large African-American population. Democrats did not vote in Kentucky.
The biggest loser of the night was U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who finished third in Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana and scraped in dead last in Maine, where he was shut out of the delegate count.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
Speaking to supporters in Boise, Idaho, Cruz hailed the results as “a very good day.”
“We’re seeing Republicans coming together. We’re seeing conservatives coming together,” he said. Cruz told reporters that the GOP field needs to continue to narrow in order to defeat Trump.
But Rubio, speaking at a rally in Jacksonville, Florida before the results began rolling in, showed no signs he was going anywhere, noting that he had successfully battled long odds to win a Senate seat in 2010.
“If you watch the press, they say he’s an underdog. He’s taking on an incredible task,” Rubio said, referring to himself. “Let me tell you something–America is country of underdogs.”
In Louisiana, Trump took 42 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Cruz. In Kentucky, Trump won 36 percent to Cruz’s 31 percent.
Among Democrats, Clinton won 71 percent to 24 percent for Bernie Sanders.
The next Southern stops in the presidential race are:
◾Tuesday, March 8: Mississippi (primary)
◾Tuesday, March 15: Florida (primary); North Carolina (primary)
◾Tuesday, May 19: West Virginia (primary)
Southerners Cruz, Rubio jockey for position after Super Tuesday
Both senators vie to be final alternative to Donald Trump
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
(CFP) — The two Southerners left in the Republican presidential race may have failed to stop Donald Trump’s bandwagon in the Super Tuesday primaries, but both U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are insisting that the results make them the most viable alternative to the New York billionaire.
Eleven states held contests to pick Republican delegates on March 1. Trump won seven. Cruz won Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska and came in second in four other states. Rubio won Minnesota and came in second in two.
Despite those mixed results, both Cruz and Rubio made it clear that they are staying in the race. And while Rubio didn’t talk about Cruz on election night, Cruz made a direct appeal for Rubio and the other candidates to drop out to give him a clear shot at Trump.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
“So long as the field is divided, the nomination of Donald Trump becomes more likely, and that would be a disaster,” Cruz told supporters in Stafford, Texas, near Houston.
Addressing the other candidates, he said, “I ask you to prayerfully consider our coming together, uniting.”
“That is the only way to beat Donald Trump. Head-to-head, our campaign beats Donald Trump resoundingly.”
But down in Miami, a defiant Rubio denounced Trump as a “con artist” and made it clear he doesn’t plan to leave the race.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio
“No matter how long it takes, no matter how many states it takes, no matter how many weeks and months it takes, I will campaign as long as it takes, and wherever it takes, to ensure that I am the next president of the United States,” Rubio said.
Rubio insisted that his stepped-up campaign of attacks against Trump has begun eroding Trump’s poll numbers, and he said he was looking forward to the March 15 primary in his home state of Florida.
“Two weeks from tonight, right here in Florida, we are going to send a message loud and clear,” he said.
Trump, Clinton roll across the South on Super Tuesday
Trump carries five of seven Southern GOP primaries; Clinton takes six on Democratic side
SUPER TUESDAY SOUTHERN RESULTS
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
(CFP) — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton rolled across the South on Super Tuesday, carrying 11 of the 14 primaries and the lion’s share of the delegates up for grabs.
The only outliers were Oklahoma, which both Trump and Clinton lost, and the Republican primary in Texas, which went for homestate U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
Trump and Clinton won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia in the March 1 vote. Clinton also won the Democratic primary in Texas
Super Tuesday was rough sledding for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who came in second place in Virginia and Georgia but could only manage a third-place finish in Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas.
In addition to winning Texas and Oklahoma, Cruz finished second to Trump in Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee. He was third in Georgia and Virginia.
While Trump won most of the Super Tuesday primaries on the Republican side, he cleared 40 percent only one Southern state, Alabama, which he swept by 18 points.
Trump also notched double-digit wins in Georgia and Tennessee. His victories in Arkansas and Virginia were narrow, 2 and 3 percent, respectively.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Buoyed by her strong support among African-Americans, Clinton rolled up huge numbers across the South. With the exception of Oklahoma, which she lost by 10 points to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Clinton’s support ranged from 64 percent in Virginia to 78 percent in Alabama.
Her margin of victory ranged from 29 points in Virginia to a staggering 59 points in Alabama.
The next Southern stops in the presidential race are:
- Saturday, March 5: Kentucky (GOP caucus), Louisiana (primary)
- Tuesday, March 8: Mississippi (primary)
- Tuesday, March 15: Florida (primary); North Carolina (primary)
- Tuesday, May 19: West Virginia (primary)
Southern Super Tuesday Results
ALABAMA
Trump—43%
Cruz—21%
Rubio-19%
Carson–10%
Kasich–4%
Clinton–78%
Sanders–19%
ARKANSAS
Trump—33%
Cruz—31%
Rubio-25%
Carson–6%
Kasich–4%
Clinton–66%
Sanders–30%
GEORGIA
Trump—39%
Rubio–25%
Cruz–24%
Carson–6%
Kasich–6%
Clinton–71%
Sanders–28%
OKLAHOMA
Cruz—34%
Trump—28%
Rubio–26%
Carson–6%
Kasich–4%
Sanders–52%
Clinton–42%
TENNESSEE
Trump—39%
Cruz–25%
Rubio–21%
Carson–8%
Kasich–5%
Clinton–66%
Sanders–32%
TEXAS
Cruz–44%
Trump–27%
Rubio–18%
Carson–4%
Kasich–4%
Clinton–65%
Sanders–33%
VIRGINIA
Trump—35%
Rubio–32%
Cruz–17%
Kasich–9%
Carson–6%
Clinton–64%
Sanders–35%
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