Clinton, Trump claim big Super Tuesday victories

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, with former rival candidate Governor Chris Chri … Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks the Fort Museum Opera House in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are tightening their grips on the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations while Ted Cruz claimed two states, including Super Tuesday’s biggest prize: Texas.

After thanking the raucous crowd, which periodically chanted his name, he touted how far his campaign had come in the last 10 months. Republicans voted in 11 states, with 595 delegates.

He pledged to enact judicial reform, fix the nation’s “broken” campaign finance system and he, once again, pledged a “political revolution” and said that he and his supporters would stand up to “billionaire class” that dominates the nation’s political system.

Clinton also picked up wins in Arkansas, and Texas, while Trump carried the GOP contests in Arkansas and MA. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives at her Super Tuesday primary night party i …

“It’s clear tonight that the stakes in this election have never been higher and the rhetoric we’re hearing on the other side has never been lower”, she said.

“This is a movement”, Trump told supporters at a rally Monday evening in Georgia. In the latest surreal twist to his increasingly freaky showdown with Rubio, Trump said that he had “beautiful hands” after the Florida senator asked at an earlier rally why the real estate mogul’s hands were so small. “We’ve got about two weeks to find out whether he’s going to continue his juggernaut or whether somebody else in going to pull into the pole position”.

Trump, who has turned American politics upside down with his outsider campaign, nationwide media blitz and crusade against political correctness, went into Super Tuesday with his polling hitting new peaks.

With an eye on Florida’s March 15 primary, Rubio vowed to keep up efforts to “unmask the true nature of the front-runner in this race”.

However, Rubio was expected to face quick calls from Trump to drop out of the race if he failed to pick up any wins.

The crossfire between Trump and establishment Republicans threatened to tear the party apart at a time when it will need to generate momentum behind a prospective nominee.

Clinton was heavily favored to win Texas – though it was expected to be closer than the. That’s compared to Sanders, who had at least 145 delegates. Clinton led with African-Americans, as well as both men and women, in Georgia and Virginia, according to surveys conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.

In the Democratic race, Clinton has steadied herself after an unexpectedly strong early challenge from Sanders.

Trump’s wins in the South were a major blow to Cruz, who once saw the region as his opportunity to stake a claim to the nomination. Instead, he’s appeared to grow stronger, drawing broad support for some of his most controversial proposals.

The event had the feel of a valedictory for Sanders, who said he was “so proud to bring Vermont values all across this country”.

Among those who said they cared most about a candidate being honest and trustworthy, most voters in Virginia and Georgia supported Mr Sanders.

She also reversed her 2008 primary loss in Virginia, bolstering her general election credentials.

But opinion polls showed the former U.S. first lady with a big lead in six Southern states that have large blocs of black voters, who have been slow to warm to Mr Sanders.