- Cruz takes Texas while Rubio scores first win in in Minnesota
WASHINGTON, March 2: Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have strengthened their grips on their parties’ presidential nominations, racking up wins in key states on Super Tuesday, the primary season’s most important day of voting.
Former Secretary of State Clinton won Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas and Massachusetts. Her rival, the Democratic socialist Sanders, won Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Colorado.
On the Republican side, Trump took Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and Massachusetts. Senator Ted Cruz took his home state of Texas as well as Oklahoma and Alaska. Florida Senator Marco Rubio picked up his first win of the primary season in Minnesota.
The results were not surprising. Opinion polls had showed Trump and Clinton with large leads in Super Tuesday states and nationally. In their victory speeches, each candidate focused on the other, rather than their primary opponents.
“America never stopped being great,” Clinton said at a rally in Florida, referencing Trump’s campaign slogan. “We have to make America whole,” she said, adding that the rhetoric on the Republican side “has never been lower.”
At his own speech in Florida, Trump shot back. “She wants to make America whole again. I’m trying to figure what that’s all about. Making America great again is going to be much better than making America whole again.” Trump also spoke of his rival, Rubio, whom he has clashed with fiercely over the past week. “I know it as a very rough night for Marco Rubio. He worked hard, he spent a lot of money. He is a lightweight, like I have said many times,” Trump said. “Rubio was the big loser of the night,” Trump added. Speaking to a large crowd in his home state late Tuesday, Sanders stayed optimistic. “This campaign, as I think all of you know, is not just about electing a president, it is about transforming America. It is about making our great nation the country we know it has the potential to be.”-Agencies
