Trump, Clinton, successful on Super Tuesday

Tribune News Service 2016, with permission

Graphic on the Super Tuesday contests results.

Alex Cole, Staff writer

On Tuesday March 1, Super Tuesday primaries occurred for the Democratic and Republican parties. Donald Trump had a hugely successful night for the Republican Party, with Hillary Clinton taking 7 out of 11 states for the Democrats.

Trump’s big night consisted of wins in Georgia, Vermont, Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Arkansas. These victories, along with several second and third place finishes, boosted Trump’s delegate count to 329.

Leading up to Super Tuesday, Trump stumbled greatly in an altercation with Marco Rubio, but was able to limit the bleeding with a endorsement from NJ Gov. Chris Christie.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz came away with an important victory in his home state of Texas. He also had impressive wins in Oklahoma and Alaska. Cruz increased his number of delegates to 231. Winning Texas was significant for Cruz, as Texas has many sought after delegates.

Senator Rubio got first place in Minnesota, in what was an overall underwhelming night for his campaign. His delegate count now stands at 110, good for third place among the remaining candidates.

Governor John Kasich did not win any states, but he gained delegates in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Virginia. His delegate count went to 25, a rather low number. Kasich is putting all of his marbles into the Mar. 15 primaries, which include his home state of Ohio.

Neurosurgeon Ben Carson removed himself from the race, citing “no political path” for his presidency. His Super Tuesday results were extremely underwhelming. Carson has found new work as he is now leading the My Faith Votes organization as its national chairman.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton won 7 of the 11 states up for grabs. Her disproportional amount of super delegates compared to Bernie Sanders makes it appear that she is soon to be the eventual Democratic nominee.