"Super Tuesday": Clinton and Trump win, Cruise on the bench

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Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump strengthened their leadership in the presidential election race as a result of a vote in the Super Tuesday, winning victories in a number of key states and leaving their rivals far behind.

The former US Secretary of State was supported by Democrats in six southern states - Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia and Texas, as well as in northeastern Massachusetts.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won four - in his native Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Colorado.

Billionaire Donald Trump won in Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, Tennessee and Arkansas, further strengthening his leadership status in the race for the Republican nomination.

Senator Ted Cruz demonstrated that his candidacy retains a certain force. He managed to get around Trump in his native Texas, in Oklahoma and in Alaska.

Senator Mark Rubio won only one victory - in Minnesota.

Speaking to the voters after the announcement of the results of the vote, Trump expressed confidence that he would be able to overcome internal party differences after the end of the primary elections.

“I am a unifier,” he said. “When this is all over, the fire of criticism will be directed at only one person: Hillary Clinton.”

Clinton celebrates victory

At a meeting with voters in Florida on the evening of March 1, Clinton stressed that her work was not yet complete:

“We will fight for every vote, we need you to continue your volunteer work — all you can do, your conversations with friends and neighbors — because this country belongs to all of us, not just those who the very top.

The democratic candidate also mentioned her Republican rivals: “America has never ceased to be great, we must strengthen it.” Clinton added that the level of Republican rhetoric before these elections "has never been so low."

Sanders does not lose optimism

Speaking to voters in Vermont, Bernie Sanders did not lose optimism:

“This campaign, as you all know, not only decides who will be president, it also addresses the issue of transforming America. It's about making our great country what it can be, knowing our potential. ”

Sanders stressed that the democratic primaries are proportional to the number of delegates, and "by the end of this day we will receive many hundreds of delegates' votes."

According to the results of the so-called “Super Satnik” - the largest event to date in the framework of the presidential election campaign - almost a quarter of the electors will be selected who will take part in the national conventions of their parties in July.

The climax of the pre-election race will be the November general elections, during which it will become clear who will replace Obama, who will resign in January 2017, as president.

In the city of Arlington in Virginia, outside the polling station, one of the supporters of the Democratic Party, Barbara Ballow, explained to the Voice of America correspondent her decision to support the candidature of Senator Bernie Sanders for the primaries:

“I voted with my heart. I do not like Hillary. I don't like her, and I don't believe her. I think she’s part of the political establishment. ”

Trump, Cruz and Rubio - the top three in which Trump remains the undisputed leader

For the favorite of the Republican race, Donald Trump, who in the past ran his own TV show, the main thing is not how many states he wins, but how far he can outrun Cruise and Rubio in each state, and how many delegates he can get in compared with rivals. Delegate distribution rules vary from state to state.

On Tuesday, when the voting began, Trump, who had already won in three out of four states, urged Rubio to withdraw from the election race. However, Rubio promised that, whatever the results of the “Super Secondary”, he would continue to fight until the July convention. He also said that he expects to win in his home state of Florida, where the voting will take place on March 15.

As for the national ratings, a joint NBC News / Survey Monkey poll published on Tuesday showed that among registered Republican voters, Trump is willing to vote for 40 percent, for Rubio - 21 percent, and for Cruz - 18 percent. They were followed by former neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 8 percent and Ohio governor John Kasik with 7 percent. According to a CNN / ORC poll published on Monday, Trump was ahead of his rivals even more: he was supported by more voters than the other four candidates combined.

According to the NBC survey, among the Democrats, Clinton was ahead of Sanders with 51 percent versus 41. CNN's survey showed a less significant advantage for the ex-Secretary of State.

Cruz warns that Trump's steam locomotive will not be stopped if he wins a major victory on Tuesday. Cruz has repeatedly reminded voters that he is so far the only candidate who has managed to beat Trump at least once. This happened at the first caucus in Iowa a month ago.

Clinton and Trump barking

Clinton, counting on the upcoming fight with Trump in the general election, began to criticize him and the other Republican candidates, ignoring the only rival among the Democrats - Bernie Sanders.

“The behavior that we see in the Republican camp - insults, humiliation, finger-pointing is unacceptable,” Clinton said at a meeting with voters on Monday in Massachusetts. “This is undermining the foundations of our society, so I will do everything possible to make our campaign a different way,” she added.

Speaking at a meeting with voters in Ohio, Trump said that Clinton "does not have the necessary strength or endurance required by the president."

Clinton, in turn, said that Trump, with his frequent attacks on rivals, "is now leading an election campaign based on insults," which is unacceptable in the presidential race.

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