Sanders hopes to repeat the Michigan Miracle by upsetting Clinton in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri.
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On Tuesday Florida is closed; IL and Missouri are open; North Carolina is open only to registered party members and independents; and OH requires voters to fill out party paperwork at the polls and affirm that they support the party’s principles. He entered Tuesday’s primaries embroiled in one of the biggest controversies of his contentious campaign.
Trump tried Sunday to shift attention away from the intense criticism that followed Friday’s harrowing scenes in Chicago, where he cancelled a scheduled rally amid sometimes violent confrontations among his supporters, protesters and authorities.
Trump has said in media interviews he does not condone violence, but at rallies he has sometimes encouraged people to use force on protesters, drawing condemnation from both Democratic and Republican politicians. “We have to vote tomorrow”.
By Wednesday morning Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump may have built near insurmountable leads in their nomination contests. Overall, Clinton holds 1,235 of total delegates, more than half the amount needed to clinch the nomination when the count includes superdelegates, who are elected officials and party leaders free to support the candidate of their choice.
The latest polls showed the Republican frontrunner poised to win the Tuesday contests, although Ohio’s Governor John Kasich held a narrow lead in his state in some surveys.
If he wins them all, Republicans will be down to a last hope of somehow denying Trump the delegates he needs and driving the race into Cleveland in a contested convention.
Billionaire businessman Donald Trump and Texas Sen. A defeat on home soil could prematurely stifle the promising career of a man with polished political skills who has been viewed by many Republicans as the future of their party.
Among Democrats, Clinton urged Democrats to unite behind her bid to focus on the far bigger threat posed by Trump. Still, she’s eying the general election and escalating her attacks on Trump, saying he’s “inciting mob violence” at his rallies. In response, Clinton assures voters she wants to see changes in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, negotiated by the Obama administration, before she can embrace the 12-nation pact she helped forge as secretary of state. Bernie Sanders who breathed new life into his campaign with a surprising victory last week in MI.
The Florida and Ohio contests also represent a political date with destiny for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen.
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, must win Democratic primaries in at least three of those states if she hopes to blunt Bernie Sanders’ momentum. Mr Rubio and Mr Kasich have suggested they might not be able to support Mr Trump if he is the nominee, an extraordinary stance for intraparty rivals.
In a lightly veiled jab at Trump, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said candidates “need to take responsibility for the environment at their events”. Marco Rubio, since the Republican candidates will have little rationale to press on with their campaigns if they can not deliver their at home.
Speaking to reporters in Genoa, Ohio, after voting for himself for president, Kasich said he’ll be “forced, going forward, to talk about some of the deep concerns” he has about Trump’s campaign.
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On the Democratic side, Clinton is all but assured of finishing her sweep of the South by picking up wins in Florida and North Carolina. This could be one of the most interesting contests to watch as the returns trickle in on Tuesday night, and an important place where Cruz can eat into Trump’s delegate lead. Next would be IL, where Sanders has been campaigning hard against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a longtime Clinton ally who has become a top target of Black Lives Matter and labor activists in the city.
