Fox News exit polls show Clinton winning primaries in the delegate-rich Super Tuesday states of Georgia, Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama, Massachusetts and Tennessee.
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But her Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, triumphed in Oklahoma and his home state of Vermont’s primaries, along with caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado.
Trump won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia, while Clinton won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Rubio won the Minnesota caucuses, his first victory since the nomination race began.
In his victory speech, Cruz called all the other candidates to drop out of the race claiming that he is the only one who can defeat Trump in the Republican presidential primaries.
Emerging from a bitter Super Tuesday marathon as the clear victor, Trump tried to defuse an intra-party feud that may be the only serious obstacle on his path to wining the Republican White House nomination. “We have seen that our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, can beat, and that will beat Donald Trump”.
“Here is perceived reality, and you tell me if you differ with it. The Republican establishment does not like you that much”, Rose said.
Mr Cruz collected at least 144 delegates and Mr Rubio picked up at least 71.
Trump said he was going to unify the Republican Party against Clinton this fall.
In the state-by-state contests, the candidates are vying to win delegates who will vote for them at their parties’ conventions in July.
Meanwhile, Sanders, speaking after his win in Vermont, told an enthusiastic crowd that he was going to “win many hundreds of delegates” on Super Tuesday. But Cruz will likely have to split those delegates proportionally with Trump and possibly Sen.
Rubio shook his head, again pointing ahead to upcoming states he said were more favorable to his candidacy. But the loss is a particularly big blow to Marco Rubio, who has worked to appeal to the kind of moderate, secular Republicans who are more common in Vermont than elsewhere in the country.
“So I think we’re going to be more inclusive, more unified and a much bigger party and I think we’re going to win in November”, he said. Marco Rubio and Gov. John Kasich would have to bow out of the race.
“Our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat and that will beat Donald Trump”, Cruz said at a rally in Texas.
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Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who had led in opinion polls for a while in October, trailed badly in every state.
