A Kasich victory in OH may be the last chance to derail Trump’s march to the Republican nomination in July, especially as the party moves to a winner-takes-all format in terms of the delegates accorded for each primary win.
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Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton extended her lead with wins projected in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. He told a victory rally in Florida, “This was an wonderful night”.
He congratulated Senator Rubio on his campaign but did not mention Mr Kasich or Senator Cruz, who are still hopeful hoping to block him from capturing the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination.
A confident Clinton pivoted quickly to November by assailing Trump’s hardline immigration positions and support for torture. “Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it”, she declared.
Meanwhile Marco Rubio dropped out of the Republican race after losing in his home state of Florida to Mr Trump. The senator urged Americans to “not give in to the fear, do not give in to the frustration”.
In Illinois, Trump has a lead over Ted Cruz.
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 68, could put some distance between herself and rival Bernie Sanders, 74, a U.S. senator from Vermont, in Democratic primaries in the same states.
The organizers – Bill Wichterman, who was former President George W. Bush’s liaison to the conservative movement, Bob Fischer, a South Dakota businessman and Erick Erickson, the founder of conservative site RedState.com – will reportedly talk about the viability of a third-party conservative candidate in the general election. Democratic voters were more likely to describe Sanders as honest, but more likely to describe Clinton’s policies as realistic, according to exit polls.
Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri dole out Democratic delegates proportionally.
Alluding to Trump, President Barack Obama said Tuesday he was dismayed by “vulgar and divisive rhetoric” directed at women and minorities as well as the violence that has occurred in the campaign. No call was made in the Republican race in that state. At 8 p.m., final polls close in Florida, Illinois and Missouri.
“Leadership is not about dividing people and encouraging a toxic environment”, Kasich said, taking a shot at Trump’s recent violent campaign rallies. He has encouraged supporters to confront protesters at his events and is now facing accusations of encouraging violence after skirmishes at a rally last week in Chicago that he ended up cancelling.
The atmosphere at his events has deepened the concern over his candidacy in some Republican circles.
For Democrats, a total of 691 delegates are at stake, including: 214 in Florida, 156 in IL, 71 in Missouri, 107 in North Carolina and 143 in Ohio. He’ll likely win the statewide delegates.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., did not rule out the idea of being drafted by the party at the convention.
Kasich said he would continue working hard, arriving in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention. She said criticism of Trump does not matter if people do not show up on election day to vote against him. “We’ll see. Who knows?”.
Trump had a significant lead over Rubio in opinion polls leading up to the primary in Florida, but was neck and neck with Kasich in Ohio.
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The exit polls were conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks. Cruz has 370, Rubio has 163 and Kasich has 63.
