Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton Take Commanding Leads in Super Tuesday Showdown
Posted on: March 2, 2016, 10:42h.
Last updated on: March 2, 2016, 04:11h.
Update March 2, 2016: Since we first published this story, back-of-the-field GOP runner Ben Carson has announced that he sees “no path forward” in his campaign. Although he has not officially ended his run as yet, it’s expected that he may do so when he speaks on Friday at a Washington, D.C. conference.
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Anyone who’s considered Donald Trump as some fringe candidate that would eventually fizzle out of the Republican race when voters came to their senses got a big splash of cold water on Super Tuesday. Sweeping most of his races with a substantial lead, the Donald proved he is here to stay in the 2016 presidential process.
Long thought to be the firewall to the billionaire’s campaign, Super Tuesday turned instead into an accelerant for Trump’s race to the White House.
By end of day, the former casino magnate and reality show star had won seven of the 11 states up for grabs, including the politically conservative Georgia, the potential swing state Virginia, and the Bible Belt’s Arkansas and Alabama. Trump also took Massachusetts, Vermont, and Tennessee.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz managed to rally his valuable home state, as well as Oklahoma and Alaska, while Florida Senator Marco Rubio scored his first victory in Minnesota.
“This has been an amazing evening … it’s really been great,” Trump said during a victory press conference. “It was a very tough night for Marco Rubio … he is a lightweight.”
Clinton Keeps Pace
?Super Tuesday was supposed to be Cruz’s night, as the religiously conservative senator was hoping to pounce on the southeastern United States’ heavily evangelist Christian base. Instead, voters largely went for the twice-divorced Manhattanite in Trump.
That takes the 2016 presidential race one giant step closer to the showdown that’s been impending for weeks: Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump in the general election.
Tuesday was no surprise on the Democratic side either, as the frontrunner extended her lead over challenger Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Like Trump, Clinton took seven states in all to Sanders’ four.
In her victory speech at the end of the day, Clinton didn’t waste time in attacking Sanders. Instead, she went after her likely GOP challenger.
Taking a jab at Trump’s “Make America Great Again!” slogan, Clinton said, “We know we’ve got work to do, but that work, that work is not to make America great again. America never stopped being great.”
Clinton won Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Arkansas. Sanders won his home state of Vermont, plus Colorado, Oklahoma, and Minnesota.
Super Schmoozeday
There were no Spotlight?surprise moments on Tuesday, with several races being called the minute polls closed by television news outlets rushing to declare the victor first. Cruz and Sanders both took their home states, as expected, and the favorites Trump and Clinton took the all-important Virginia.
Cruz winning Texas and Rubio sweeping Minnesota for his debut victory only put Trump closer to securing the GOP nomination.
The two main challengers to Trump doubled down late Tuesday, reiterating that they aren’t dropping out to support each other. And Ohio Governor John Kasich and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, running fourth and fifth respectively, said they too aren’t suspending their campaigns.
Rubio and Cruz, perhaps oddly, spoke last night as if they were the big winners.
“So long as the field remains divided, Donald Trump’s path to the nomination remains more likely,” Cruz claimed. “For the candidates who have not yet won a state … I ask you to prayerfully consider our coming together.”
Rubio said of his runner-up finish in Virginia, “We basically fought Donald Trump to a draw despite having to share the ballot with a number of people who probably took votes away,” the senator said, referring to also-rans Kasich and Carson.
Final Delegate Count on Super Tuesday
Republican (1,237 needed for nomination)
Trump 316
Cruz 226
Rubio 106
Kasich 25
Carson 8
Democratic (2,382 needed)
Clinton 1,001
Sanders 371
Last Comment ( 1 )
What America illustrates to me, that if Hillary Clinton beats Bernie Sanders or Sen. Cruz or Rubio takes on the Presidency. Nothing new will happen in any session of Congress, They are all be part of there own establishment that guarantees for each of them, corporate money sponsors. They must genuflect to their puppet masters, which are able to influence them any and all in Washington. There is an epidemic within each party for greed, influence, and power to control the people's voice and very few don't care about the outcome. We saw that clearly with the Omnibus budget, with speaker Paul Ryan not putting any fight to the 2.2 Trillion dollar gives away to the Obama administration; means funding for everything, which includes the Syrian refugees, who are coming here and with no identification in most cases to stop it. With even Obamas pro-illegal alien movement and the massive surge to not placing any obstacles in the way, to the dismay of the US Border Patrol union and for interior enforcement ICE. Both political parties are owned by the donor class, the corporate class that gives their dollars to the same politicians, so it's no wonder the American people is lucky if they hold a place at the back of the line. They all collect Hillary, Pelosi, Reid, or anybody who is aligned with the Leftists. Same with the Mitt Romney, McConnell, Cruz, Rubio; they all collect the blood money. I told my family that has nothing has shown me any accomplishments of Madam Hillary, nor really the Republicans. In fact Hillary Clinton is far from trustworthy and more so placed our National Security in jeopardy. I think if any dirty tricks are played on Donald Trump by the GOP establishment, as like Sen. Cruz accomplished against Ben Carson and derails his nomination, my family, friends, old soldiers, and millions of the silent majority will drop out altogether. What does the secret donors want is mass illegal immigration, lower wages for America. Rubio promised no Amnesty then went again the American people and pressed for Amnesty. If the establishment plays games, I will join a third party--win or lose. With a current 19 trillion dollar deficit, but now with the new budget raising to a 21 budget under the present circumstances and a incomprehensibly 100 trillion unfunded mandates the country is in serious trouble. Yet, as I said nothing can be accomplished from either political party. National immigration center (NIC) Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in expenditures on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of almost $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal household. But this all depends on the Obamas assault on our sovereignty along with the Democratic Party to approve 11 to 15 million illegal aliens amnesty. Currently Texas and 23 other states filed documents to the contrary in the Supreme Court. It rests whether Obama can bypass Congress on such a severe law, inexplicably causing major consequences to our society if the justices go along with Democrats a a dismal reality will incur even larger deficits. According to NumbersUS federal and state treasuries through the taxpayer are spending over $336 Billion dollars a year on non citizens and escalating. Donald Trump will be ready on the first day in office, to revitalize our country by building a wall in most of the porous areas on our Southern border for over a thousand miles. Adjoined to the wall policy, is the implementation of E-Verify Not optional anymore under the actions of Donald Trump, as it will be mandated. No more business owners exploiting cheap labor from foreign countries allowing them to steal millions of jobs from citizens and legitimate immigrants. You have to ask yourself, are the Democrats or even the Republicans going to do that? The answer is--NO! All they care about is their own welfare; being reelected. Along with the formidable giant wall and a new version of E-Verify and a scanning process, to see if any alighting passenger arriving in America is departing after their visa runs out. Overstays should be classed as an illegal alien and any body who enters the country illegally, should be facing a felony? A policy to renegotiate the unfair foreign fast track FREE TRADE agreement will be handled by competent advisory, which includes Mexico. Currently we have a federal deficit of $50 billion dollars, China $200 billion dollars, which manipulates its currency so our manufacturing business cannot compete. Ask yourself the question and look towards the big cities with thousands of empty lots, huge buildings locked and where once workers milled about? Your jobs vanished overseas and Mexico becoming the capitol of the truck, auto parts industry and paying zero when the vehicles enter our country. As Mr. Trump say, "It's not going to happen anymore"? The Wealthy profiteers are in turmoil, because our jobs going to China, India, Japan and Mexico; our giant corporations are leaving our nation. Soon the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) could be arriving on your doorstop, with more loss of jobs and large industries disappearing and our country in the eye-opening budget a few months ago that approved more H1-B and other special visas, even taking more work from citizens. This year, Ford, Nabisco, Heartz and now Carrier have all flown to (NAFTA) Mexico, where labor is even cheaper and probably benefits are none existent. Neither political party has learned that they are in the Capitol, through the voting rights of US citizens not special interests and the wealthy who back them with campaign contributions and silent perks that are hidden from public view. Since Obama has been in office Obama laws he has devastated the coal industry and thousands of jobs have been lost in Ohio and Virginia. Trump will even give approval to building the Canadian Keystone pipeline. Other issues such as building our military to ward off our enemies; strengthening our second amendment and returning our Education system back to local influence along with other agencies of the government to states. The attack ads are already rampant against Donald Trump by the Republican Party; because once he reaches the White House the corruption will be uncovered and personages as Hillary Clinton, Sen. Cruz will be held accountable for their wrongdoing. I don't care what the dirt diggers look for in Trumps background, I don't care whether David Duke, the KKK, the Mafia, whether he has been marriage thirty times or he has a secret base on the planet Mars. I don't even care if there is a "Bombshell" in his taxes...I DON'T CARE.