But Rubio, around whom dozens of establishment GOP lawmakers have rallied around in recent weeks in an effort to grow a cohesive anti-Trump movement, may end Super Tuesday without any winning any states.
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But the biggest electoral prize of this hour is Georgia.
Donald Trump wins the Republican presidential primary in Arkansas.
The Florida senator had invested significant time and resources toward a victory in the swing state of Virginia.
Super Tuesday is the biggest single day of state-by-state contests to select party nominees for the November 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama.
Presidential candidates will be vying for delegates for the national convention. But Cruz was getting the lion’s share of support from voters looking for someone “very conservative”.
Mr Sanders led among voters aged under 30 and Mrs Clinton held a commanding lead among those aged 45 and over.
She took the opportunity to try out some general election rhetoric, criticizing Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric and promising to make America whole again before endorsing “love and kindness”.
“After tonight, we’ve seen that our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat, and that will beat Donald Trump”, Cruz said. Clinton will win in Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee, according to the Associated Press. Her wins in Georgia and Virginia were the first of what her campaign hoped would be a sweep of the South, a region where large segments of the Democratic electorate are black.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential primary in Arkansas, where she once served as the state’s first lady.
Sanders has a significant deficit in support from superdelegates, the 712 elected officials and party leaders who are unpledged and can support the candidate they wish.
Cruz, who won the Iowa GOP caucus, has 17 delegates, one more than Rubio.
The first-term senator has won the contests in Texas and Oklahoma but he is lagging behind Trump overall.
Trump had been heavily favored to carry all three states, according to polls, and more victories for the mogul were likely, according the surveys, in Alabama, Massachusetts, Alaska, Oklahoma and Tennessee, where returns are expected later Tuesday.
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After he voted Tuesday in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont, Sanders told reporters that if voter turnout is high “we are going to do well. And let me assure you that we are going to take our fight…to every one of those states”. Republicans have 11 contests and Democrats have 12.
