WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the 2016 presidential campaign, with primaries in five states Tuesday and Republican front-runner Donald Trump trying to move closer to nailing down his party's nomination:
12:12 a.m.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential primary in her native state of Illinois. It's the fourth victory of the night for the former secretary of state over rival Bernie Sanders.
Clinton also posted wins in Ohio, North Carolina and Florida in Tuesday's elections.
Clinton spoke earlier in the night in Florida, and appeared to pivot ahead toward a possible general election contest against Donald Trump.
She suggested the Republican billionaire was not prepared to make the tough decisions required of a president.
Sanders spoke for nearly an hour in Phoenix and delivered his standard stump speech, never mentioning the day's election results.
11:00 p.m.
Ted Cruz is vowing that "tonight was a good night," even though he has yet to win any of the five states that held Republican primaries.
Addressing hundreds of raucous supporters at a hotel in his hometown of Houston, Cruz said that "after tonight, America now has a clear choice."
Cruz said that only he and Donald Trump have a shot at winning the Republican nomination.
He didn't name Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who captured his home state Tuesday. But Cruz said other campaigns have "no mathematical possibility whatsoever."
10:50 p.m.
Ted Cruz says he is welcoming Marco Rubio's former supporters "with open arms."
Cruz said at a Houston rally that the battle for the Republican presidential nomination battle was a "two person race" between himself and Donald Trump.
Rubio suspended his presidential campaign on Tuesday.
He did not mention Josh Kasich by name but clearly was belittling his chances. Kasich won his home state of Ohio on Tuesday but that has been his only victory of the year.
Cruz has won seven states but still significantly trails Trump in delegates. The Texas Senator claimed that the media was "rooting" for Trump because he is the only candidate Hillary Clinton could beat.
Cruz has yet to win a state on Tuesday though the race in Missouri has not yet been called.
10:45 p.m.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' campaign strategist says that the "first half of the process" toward winning the Democratic nomination is over and the campaign feels "very good about the calendar ahead."
Tad Devine pushed back Tuesday against the suggestion that the Ohio results were bad for Sanders, saying that "our goal was to win as many delegates as possible."
Looking ahead, Devine said he was confident about Sanders' chances in the next three contests - Arizona, Idaho and Utah on March 22 - calling them all states the campaign thinks they can win.
He also said that Sanders was immune to any push to drop out because of his small-batch fundraising.
"The millions who are out there believe in him and believe in his message," Devine said.
10:25 p.m.
Donald Trump is adding to his lead in the delegate race with victories in Florida, North Carolina and Illinois.
Trump has won at least 159 delegates in Tuesday's contests. John Kasich has picked up at least 73 delegates - most of them for winning Ohio - while Ted Cruz has won at least 24 and Marco Rubio will get at least four.
There are still 107 delegates left to be allocated.
The overall race for delegates:
Trump: 619.
Cruz: 394.
Rubio: 167.
Kasich: 136.
It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.
10:05 p.m.
Donald Trump is congratulating Marco Rubio for running a "tough campaign."
Rubio suspended his campaign Tuesday after getting routed in his home state of Florida. Though Trump mercilessly mocked Rubio in recent weeks, calling him "little Marco," he briefly changed his tune during his victory speech.
Trump said during his rally at his Mar-a-Lago resort that the senator was a "tough, smart" candidate who has "a great future."
Rubio earlier in the night congratulated Trump for his victory in Florida. The two had exchanged bitter broadsides for weeks, including some angry exchanges at recent debates.
10:00 p.m.
Donald Trump is marking his latest string of victories by saying he is bringing new voters to the Republican party.
Trump said Tuesday during a victory rally at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida that "something is happening" in the Republican Party that is being noticed "all over the world."
He touted increased voter turnout and a rise in new voters who have come out to support him.
The celebrity businessman won Tuesday in North Carolina, Illinois and Florida. His rout in Florida, the home of Marco Rubio, effectively ended the senator's White House bid.
John Kasich won his first contest of the primary process by taking his home state of Ohio on Tuesday. Ted Cruz has not yet won a state.
9:53 p.m.
Donald Trump is winning the Republican presidential primary in Illinois, where his rally was canceled last week in Chicago over security concerns.
His victory Tuesday comes after an earlier win in Florida and North Carolina. It increases his delegate lead over the rest of the Republican field.
That field shrank by one on Tuesday as Marco Rubio dropped out. But John Kasich captured his first victory of the nominating contest by winning his home state of Ohio.
Ted Cruz has yet to win a state Tuesday.
9:50 p.m.
Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in North Carolina.
His victory Tuesday comes after an earlier win in Florida and increases his delegate lead over the rest of the Republican field.
That field shrank by one on Tuesday as Marco Rubio dropped out. But John Kasich captured his first victory of the nominating contest by winning his home state of Ohio, nabbing all 66 delegates there.
Ted Cruz has yet to win a state Tuesday.
9:42 p.m.
Bernie Sanders was handed three early defeats on Tuesday - but his speech carried little mention of them.
Sanders lost Ohio, Florida and North Carolina to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who added to her delegate lead. But, in a speech to supporters in Phoenix, he barely discussed those contests or the day's races in Illinois or Missouri that have not been called.
Sanders instead delivered his standard campaign speech, decrying the influence of big money in politics. He vowed that "billionaires would have to pay their fair share."
The Vermont senator has struggled to win the south, instead claiming some victories in the Midwest.
9:40 p.m.
Marco Rubio exits the presidential race having won 163 delegates to the Republican National Convention this summer.
The vast majority of those delegates will be sought-after free agents, free to support the candidate of their choice - unless Rubio tries to resurrect his campaign at a contested convention.
GOP rules require delegates to vote for the candidate who won them on the first ballot at the convention. However, most state parties release those delegates if their candidate is no longer running.
If Rubio jumps back in the race, he keeps his delegates.
Rubio can ask them to support another candidate, but they don't have to.
9:35 p.m.
Ted Cruz says his "friend and colleague" Marco Rubio ran "an optimistic campaign focused on the future of our party."
In a statement released shortly after the Florida senator suspended his presidential campaign, Cruz said he's certain Rubio will continue to be "a champion for limitless opportunity in America."
Cruz lost Tuesday's major winner-take-all contests - in Florida to Donald Trump and Ohio to the state's governor, John Kasich.
But his campaign was still hoping to pick up delegates in states that award delegates proportionally: Missouri, Illinois and North Carolina.
Cruz has said for weeks he's the only candidate in the field who can beat Trump one-on-one.
9:30 p.m.
John Kasich says he won't take the "low road" in his party's divisive presidential primary after a home-state win in Ohio.
The Ohio governor beat back a challenge from Donald Trump in a home-state election Tuesday that keeps Kasich's underdog campaign alive. He's one of just three candidates left in the race after rival Marco Rubio dropped out of the race earlier Tuesday.
"The campaign goes on," Kasich told a crowd in Berea, Ohio Tuesday night.
Kasich's speech was interrupted by a protester wearing clothes with Trump's campaign logo - "Make America Great Again."
To that, Kasich joked that he appreciates a good, "peaceful protest every once in a while" since he went to college in the 1970's.
9:15 p.m.
By winning the Republican primary in Ohio, John Kasich picked up all 66 of the state's delegates to the Republican National Convention.
Now all he has to do is win 91 percent of the remaining delegates and he can clinch the nomination before the convention this summer.
Marco Rubio has more delegates than Kasich has, and the Florida senator suspended his campaign Tuesday night.
Donald Trump still leads the race for delegates, with 568. Ted Cruz has 370 delegates, Kasich has 129 and Rubio left the race with 163.
It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.
9:05 p.m.
Hillary Clinton says a president must be ready to "start making decisions" immediately upon assuming office since it's a job that will affect every person on the planet.
Clinton, a Democrat, did not mention Republican front-runner Donald Trump by name. But she said Tuesday that any president would have to keep the country safe, make "positive changes" in people's lives and unite the country.
Clinton has repeatedly accused Trump of using divisive rhetoric. She also called for all candidates to lay out specifics - including the cost - of their plans, something she has repeatedly asked of her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders.
Clinton has won at least three state primaries on Tuesday: Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. And she has widened her delegate lead over rival Bernie Sanders.
9:00 p.m.
Hillary Clinton is declaring that she is moving closer to the Democratic nomination after three early states wins on Tuesday.
Clinton won the presidential primaries in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, widening her significant delegate lead over rival Bernie Sanders.
Clinton celebrated in Florida with supporters, declaring it "another super Tuesday for our campaign" and said it was another step closer to winning the White House.
8:55 p.m.
The delegate lead for Hillary Clinton continues to grow thanks to a big win in North Carolina.
With 107 delegates at stake, she will win at least 56. Sanders will gain at least 24.
That means for the night Clinton has earned at least 175 delegates so far, having also won Florida. Sanders will win at least 73.
In all, 691 delegates are up for grabs in five states.
Including superdelegates, the lead is bigger. Clinton now has a total of at least 1,410, while Sanders has at least 653. It takes 2,383 to win.
Still to come: results in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois.
8:50 p.m.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich scored his first win of the presidential nomination contest, grabbing all 66 delegates in the Ohio primary, in what could ultimately stall Donald Trump's decisive dash to the nomination.
Kasich entered the GOP presidential race as an underdog but surged to prominence after he secured second place in New Hampshire's primary last month.
Steering clear of the boisterous, often belligerent rhetoric exchanged by his GOP rivals, Kasich has sought to distinguish himself as the candidate with a positive message. He avoided direct criticism of front-runner Trump until recent days, when he expressed concern that the billionaire businessman was encouraging violence at his rallies.
Kasich remains in last place among the GOP contenders. He had been in fourth place, trailing Marco Rubio, who ended his campaign earlier Tuesday after a humiliating loss to Trump in his home state of Florida.
8:45 p.m.
Marco Rubio spoke over boos from the audience as he congratulated Florida primary winner Donald Trump. Rubio offered the crowd an emotional evaluation on the state of politics in the United States Tuesday as he ended his bid for the White House.
The Florida senator sought to calm his supporters, and took a heckler in stride, saying the person would "not get beat up" at his rally, a swipe at the recent disturbances at some of Trump's rallies.
He said that he would offer "a prayer" for the eventual Republican nominee but did not suggest it would be Trump, who has a significant delegate lead over Ted Cruz and John Kasich. He has waffled of late as to whether he would support Trump if the celebrity businessman became the Republican standard-bearer.
Rubio also bemoaned the current political climate in which people "literally hate each other" because they differ politically.
8:40 p.m.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential primary in Ohio, earning her third win in Tuesday's quintet of contests.
Clinton already scored victories in Florida and North Carolina, earning 175 additional delegates before winning Ohio.
Contests in Missouri and Illinois have not yet been decided.
8:35 p.m.
The delegate lead for Hillary Clinton continues to grow thanks to a big win in North Carolina.
With 107 delegates at stake, she will win at least 56. Sanders will gain at least 24.
That means for the night Clinton has earned at least 175 delegates so far, having also won Florida. Sanders will win at least 73.
In all, 691 delegates are up for grabs in five states.
Including superdelegates, the lead is bigger. Clinton now has a total of at least 1,410, while Sanders has at least 653. It takes 2,383 to win.
Still to come: results in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois.
8:20 p.m.
Republican Marco Rubio is ending his campaign for the Republican nomination for president after a humiliating loss in his home state of Florida.
Rubio told a crowd in Miami Tuesday that he knows that voters are angry and that there is a hunger for new faces and voices in government.
Rubio's decision was prompted by losses in all but three of the presidential nomination contests but Florida's winner-take-all primary proved the most devastating. Only six years earlier, he was a tea party favorite who crushed the GOP's "establishment" candidate to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.
But the political tables turned on the Florida senator as a 2016 presidential candidate who was lambasted as mainstream in a year when voters cried out for an outsider.
8:15 p.m.
Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic presidential primary in North Carolina, adding to her run of victories in the South over rival Bernie Sanders.
Clinton's win in North Carolina was her second victory on Tuesday, following a triumph in Florida.
She has dominated Sanders in the South, previously capturing wins in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee.
Clinton has a significant delegate lead over Sanders, who has turned in stronger showings in the Midwest and other Western states.
North Carolina will also be considered a key battleground state in the general election. President Barack Obama won the state in 2008 but lost it to Mitt Romney four years later.
8:08 p.m.
Donald Trump's big win in the Florida primary is helping him stretch his lead in the race for delegates.
Trump picked up all 99 delegates in Florida.
He now has 568. Ted Cruz has 370 delegates, Marco Rubio has 163 and John Kasich has 63.
It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.
8:06 p.m.
Hillary Clinton is widening her overall delegate lead with an early win in Florida.
The Sunshine State is Democrats' biggest delegate prize of the night.
With 214 delegates at stake, Clinton is assured of winning at least 118. Sanders will pick up at least 45.
In all, 691 delegates are up for grabs Tuesday in five states.
Going into Tuesday's contests, Clinton already held a 214-delegate advantage based just on wins from primaries and caucuses.
When including superdelegates, the lead is even larger. Clinton now has a total of at least 1,353, while Sanders has at least 625. It takes 2,383 to win.
The other states voting Tuesday are North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois.
8:05 p.m.
Donald Trump is once again breaking with tradition, holding an election night press conference in Florida instead of a typical victory party.
The media gathered at Trump's sprawling Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach Tuesday in a large ballroom filled with more than a dozen crystal chandeliers, gilded walls and ceilings with small cherubs overhead.
Trump clinched Florida's 99 winner-take-all primary, beating rival Marco Rubio in his home state.
Reporters will be sitting in the last two rows of chairs, with 16 rows reserved in front of them. During past Trump election press conferences, members of Trump's golf clubs and other friends have filled the front seats.
Meanwhile, Trump's official campaign account has been busy, re-tweeting several negative comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly's election coverage.
8:00 p.m.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have won the presidential primary in Florida, further solidifying their leads in the hotly contested race for the Republican and Democratic nominations.
For Trump, the Republican front-runner, Florida's all-or-nothing contest represents a momentous win, giving him 99 additional delegates - the largest in the quintet of contests taking place Tuesday. His victory deals a devastating blow to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who many in the Republican establishment had backed in the hope of derailing Trump's dash to the nomination.
Clinton will be awarded delegates proportionally in keeping with Democratic regulations, but the win still catapults her ahead of rival Bernie Sanders, who came into Tuesday's contests with fresh momentum after scoring big in Michigan last week.
5:15 p.m.
About two-thirds of Republican primary voters in all five states voting Tuesday support temporarily banning non-citizen Muslims from entering the United States, but majorities in all five say they want immigrants already in the United States illegally to be allowed a chance to stay.
That's according to early results of exit polls conducted for the Associated Press and television networks for Edison Research.
Only about 4 in 10 Republican voters in each state want all immigrants in the country illegally to be deported.
The proportion of GOP primary voters saying they want a ban on non-citizen Muslims entering the United States is as high as three-quarters in Missouri.
5:10 p.m.
About 9 in 10 Republican primary voters in five states going to the polls Tuesday are unhappy with the direction of the federal government - and on average, about 4 in 10 are angry.
According to early results of exit polls conducted for the Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research, majorities of Republican primary voters in all five states say they feel betrayed by politicians from the Republican Party.
In each of the five states, about half of voters say they prefer a candidate who's an outsider, while about 4 in 10 want one with political experience.
5:07 p.m.
White voters make up the majority of Democratic voters in four of five states going to the polls Tuesday, but all five states included large enough percentages of minority voters to potentially affect the results.
According to early results of exit polls conducted for the Associates Press and television networks, black voters make up at least about one-fifth of the Democratic electorate in each states voting Tuesday, and in Florida, Illinois and North Carolina nearly 3 in 10 Democratic primary voters are black.
Black voters have formed an important part of Clinton's coalition in earlier states, supporting her by about a 67 percentage point margin across 15 earlier contests where entrance or exit polls were conducted. But in Michigan a week ago, they supported her by a smaller 40 percentage point margin.
In Florida, Hispanics made up about 2 in 10 Democratic and Republican primary voters. That includes about 1 in 10 GOP primary voters who are of Cuban descent.
5:05 p.m.
Majorities of Democrats in five states going to the polls Tuesday say they would be satisfied with both candidates as the nominee.
According to early results of exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the Associated Press and television networks, voters are more likely to describe Sanders than Clinton as honest, but more likely to describe Clinton's policies as realistic.
At least half of voters in each state say each of the two candidates' positions on the issues are "about right," though voters are generally more likely to say Sanders' policies are too liberal than not liberal enough and to say the opposite about Clinton.
Democratic voters in all five states see Clinton as the candidate with the better chance to beat Donald Trump if he is the Republican nominee in November.
4:49 p.m.
Even before Tuesday's primary results are in, a group of conservative leaders is calling a meeting to discuss options for blocking Donald Trump's path to the Republican nomination - including the possibility of rallying around a third-party candidate.
A person familiar with the planning for Thursday's meeting says the discussion will focus first on trying to get conservatives to unite around one candidate to compete against Trump. High-dollar donors would be mobilized to pressure other candidates to go along with that plan.
The discussion will also focus on the logistics of getting a third-party candidate on state ballots, an option seen by organizers as a "lifeboat" for conservatives. Participants will discuss ballot access issues, including using an existing third party as a vehicle for a candidate or securing signatures for an independent bid.
The meeting was first reported by Politico. The person familiar with the planning confirmed the meeting on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the gathering by name.
- White House Correspondent Julie Pace
4:43 p.m.
Florida election officials say Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's name was not left off ballots in a town in south Florida, despite a small number of voter complaints.
Florida is a closed-primary state, which means only registered Republicans would get a ballot listing Trump and the other GOP candidates.
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said that independent voters can't vote in the primary. Bucher said Tuesday that some residents in Jupiter, Florida who were voting as independents in municipal elections complained when they didn't see Trump's name on the ballot. Bucher said none of the other presidential candidates were listed on those ballots either.
Florida's Secretary of State Ken Detzner sent out a statement reassuring voters that Trump had not been left off any presidential ballots.
4:40 p.m.
Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio says, win or lose in Tuesday's crucial Florida primary, he's staying in the race.
He says there is no one in the race is "on pace to get 1,237 delegates," the number needed to secure the Republican nomination.
Rubio says the latest polls showing him a distant second behind GOP front-runner Donald Trump are wrong.
Rubio early voted on March 2 and is holding his primary night party in Miami.
Florida elections officials are expecting a record turnout of more than 4 million voters. More than 2 million have already made their choice by early voting or absentee. The state is a closed primary.
2:14 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he spoke to Republican front-runner Donald Trump and asked him to condemn violence no matter who is responsible.
McConnell told reporters that he had a conversation with the candidate Tuesday morning, the first time the two men spoke since December.
The Kentucky Republican and the New York businessman discussed the recent violence that has marred Trump's rallies and protesters have clashed with the candidate's supporters.
Trump earlier Tuesday backed away from a suggestion that he might cover legal costs for a supporter who was caught on video punching a black protester in the face. The supporter was later charged with assault. Trump at the time said he'd asked his "people" to "look into" paying the fees. I
On ABC's "Good Morning America" Tuesday, he said, "I never said I was going to pay for fees." Asked if it had appeared he was encouraging violence with his initial statement, Trump replied, "Well, maybe so. Maybe that's why I wouldn't do it."
1:22 p.m.
President Barack Obama says he is deeply disturbed by the "vulgar and divisive rhetoric" directed at women and minorities, as well as the violence in the 2016 presidential campaign.
That's a swipe at Republican front runner Donald Trump, who has been combative at his sometimes violent rallies and made comments about women.
Obama spoke Tuesday at a unity luncheon at the Capitol to express his concern about the protests that have escalated to attacks at the Trump rallies, as well as the candidate's plan to bar Muslims and deport immigrants living here illegally.
He says, "We have heard vulgar and divisive rhetoric aimed at women and minorities, and Americans that don't look like us or pray like us or vote like we do." The president adds that too many leaders have been silent about the rhetoric, tone and actual violence at Trump rallies.
1:00 p.m.
Hillary Clinton says on primary day in five key states that "the numbers are adding up in my favor" but she is going to keep working as hard as she can.
Clinton is pointing to the general election, telling reporters in Raleigh, North Carolina, that she thinks it's important that she focuses on "the really dangerous path that Donald Trump has laid out." She says the "kind of bluster and bigotry and bullying" is disturbing to most Americans.
Clinton faces Democratic rival Bernie Sanders in primary contests in five states on Tuesday: North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. She says she will "keep working all day on Election Day and remind people how important it is to vote" and not let "anyone get complacent."
12:37 p.m.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is closing his argument for Illinois votes by highlighting links between his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's troubled administration.
The Democratic presidential hopeful sat down for breakfast with Cook County Board commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who lost a surprisingly strong bid last year to unseat Emanuel.
The Sanders campaign has tried to highlight links between Emanuel and Sanders' opponent, Hillary Clinton. Emanuel served as senior adviser to former President Bill Clinton and as chief of staff to President Barack Obama. The mayor is currently under fire for a police shooting scandal.
Sanders is banking on a win in Illinois Tuesday to pad his surprise victory in another Rust Belt state, Michigan, on March 8.
11:02 a.m.
House Speaker Paul Ryan says all candidates have an obligation to do what they can to provide an atmosphere of harmony at campaign events and not incite violence.
His comments Tuesday come as attacks have marred rallies led by GOP front-runner Donald Trump. The candidate canceled an event in Chicago on Friday night over protests.
Ryan told reporters that there is a concerted effort by those on the left to disrupt the rallies and he condemned that. At the same time he said candidates should ensure they are appealing to people's best ideals and trying to unite the country to fix the nation's problems.
Pressed on support for the eventual nominee, Ryan said that is a decision the GOP primary voters will make.
10:20 a.m.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he'll have plenty to say about one GOP candidate in particular - Donald Trump - after Tuesday's critical primaries in five states.
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. He said Trump's combative comments at rallies and his comments about women are of particular concern.
Speaking out would not be "designed to be negative as much as it is to point out things that have been deeply disturbing."
Kasich concluded that whatever happens in Tuesday's contests, he appreciates the opportunity and the attention.
He added, "I just want to be a good guy, helping my country."
9:44 a.m.
Donald Trump has posted a big win in the GOP caucus on the Northern Mariana Islands.
The party says the billionaire businessman won almost 73 percent of the vote in Tuesday's caucus. He will get all nine delegates from the U.S. territory.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz came in second with 24 percent of the vote, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finished a distant third and fourth, respectively.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties hold nominating contests in U.S. territories. The residents, however, cannot vote in the general election. The party said a total of 471 people voted.
Trump leads the race for delegates with 469. Cruz has 370, Rubio has 163, and Kasich has 63.
It takes 1,237 delegates to win the GOP nomination.