News / USA
Clinton, Trump Win Big on Super Tuesday
Last updated on: March 01, 2016 10:56 PM
WASHINGTON—
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont laughs as he arrives with his wife, Jane Sanders, and his son Levi Sanders to a primary night rally in Essex Junction, Vt., March 1, 2016.
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have strengthened their grip on their parties' presidential nominations, racking up a series of wins in key states on Super Tuesday, the primary election's most important day of voting.
According to media projections, former Secretary of State Clinton has won six Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The states rival Bernie Sanders is projected to have won are Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado and Vermont, his home state.
On the Republican side, Trump took Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and Massachusetts. Trump's only losses were to Senator Ted Cruz, who took his home state of Texas as well as Oklahoma. Florida Senator Marco Rubio picked up his first win of the primary election, in Minnesota.
Watch video report from VOA's Jim Malone:
The results were not surprising. Opinion polls had showed Trump and Clinton with large leads in Super Tuesday states and nationally. In their victory speeches, each candidate focused on the other, rather than their primary opponents.
"America never stopped being great," Clinton said at a rally in Florida, referencing Trump's campaign slogan. "We have to make America whole," she said, adding that the rhetoric on the Republican side "has never been lower."
Fires back
At his own speech in Florida, Trump shot back: "She wants to make America whole again. I'm trying to figure what that's all about. Making America great again is going to be much better than making America whole again."
Trump also referenced his rival, Rubio, saying, "I know it as a very rough night for Marco Rubio. He worked hard, he spent a lot of money. He is a lightweight, like I have said many times.
"Rubio was the big loser of the night. He didn't win anything tonight. He hasn't won anything period," Trump said.
Speaking to a large crowd in his home state late Tuesday, Sanders stayed optimistic.
"This campaign, as I think all of you know, is not just about electing a president, it is about transforming America. It is about making our great nation the country we know it has the potential to be," he said.
Sanders stressed that Democratic primaries are proportional, and that they award delegates according to the vote count. "By the end of tonight, we are going to win many hundreds of delegates," he said.
After the voting finished Sanders released a statement saying his campaign is "just getting started" and that he intends to remain in the race until the party's nominating convention in July.
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