Florida and OH, the first winner-take-all states in the delegate race, are the two big prizes of the night for Republicans. There, it’s Gov. John Kasich who is looking to stop Trump’s march to the nomination by capturing the state’s 66 delegates.
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Marco Rubio has more delegates than Kasich has, and the Florida senator suspended his campaign Tuesday night.
Also holding races on Tuesday are Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina.
For Democrats, the primaries offered front-runner Clinton a chance to solidify her lead over Bernie Sanders, while the Vermont senator was hoping to build on a surprising win last week in MI.
In the final days of his campaign, Rubio emerged as one of Trump’s staunchest critics, attacking the GOP frontrunner’s rhetoric and record while mocking his tan and the size of his hands. Five states-Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, and Illinois-hold their primary contests tonight. However, he would still be short of a majority of the delegates, increasing the likelihood of a contested convention.
Former Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland says turnout locally is on par with what was seen in 2012, however keep an eye on the amount of Republican voters heading to the polls vs. their Democratic counterparts.
Tuesday’s primaries could provide a defining moment in the race for the Republican nomination for president or not.
“The most compelling case for John Kasich is to win OH, win it convincingly, and go on as the significant alternative to the center right of Donald Trump”, Republican strategist Tom Rath said. He has encouraged supporters to confront protesters at his events and is facing accusations of encouraging violence after skirmishes at a rally last week in Chicago that he ended up cancelling.
“I don’t think I should be toning it down because I’ve had the biggest rallies of anybody probably ever”, Trump said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America”.
The senator attempted to position himself as the best establishment candidate to defeat Trump, but his efforts to engage in personal attacks with the GOP frontrunner might have backfired.
In Florida, Trump secured about 45 percent of the vote while Rubio took less than 30 percent.
But under some scenarios, Trump’s loss to Kasich in OH – even with his win in Florida – could put a speed bump in the billionaire’s path to the nomination and leave open the possibility that establishment support could coalesce behind the OH governor.
Entering Tuesday, Clinton had 768 pledged delegates compared to 554 for Sanders, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Sanders has at least 625.
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During a celebration speech following the announcement of the projected win, Kasich vowed never to take the “low road” to “highest office in the land”.
