Politics –
Rubio Loses Florida, Quits;
Kasich Wins Ohio
“Super-Duper Tuesday” proved to be an interesting night for Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio and John Kasich, as voters headed to the polls in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.
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Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who desperately needed a win in his home state, was defeated by Donald Trump, 45.7% to 27%. In failing to win his home state while consistently coming in 3rd place in most states, Rubio saw the writing on the wall and decided it was time to end his candidacy.
“After tonight, it’s clear that while we are on the right side this year, we will not be on the winning side,” Rubio said during his farewell remarks. “While it is not God’s plan that I be president in 2016, or maybe ever, and while today I am suspending my campaign, the fact that I have come this far is evidence how special America truly is.” He then added: “While this may not have been the year for a hopeful and optimistic message about our future, I still remain hopeful and optimistic about America.”
The narrative was very different for Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, who handily won his home state and prevented Donald Trump from running the board and obtaining a clean sweep. Ohio is a “winner-take-all” state and rewarded all 66 delegates to the governor.
In a clear jab at Trump, Kasich began his victory remarks by saying it’s time to “bring the country together and not divide this country anymore.”
“That’s why this was such a big victory tonight,” Kasich said. “Because what it does is it says, ‘You want to go and divide ’em?’ O.K., you came to Ohio, you threw everything you had at me, and guess what? It didn’t work.”
By the end of the evening, Donald Trump won Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois. As of this writing, Missouri was too close to call, although Trump was slightly ahead.
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For the Democrats, it was a huge night for Hillary Clinton, who won big in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Illinois. As of this writing, Missouri was also too close to call, although Hillary Clinton was slightly ahead.
Mrs. Clinton began her victory remarks by announcing that 2 million more Democrats voted for her. She then dug directly into Donald Trump, arguing that he could not be trusted as the next president, either from a national security standpoint or from the standpoint of America’s standing on the world stage.
“The second big test for our next president is keeping us safe. We live in a complex and, yes, a dangerous world. Protecting America’s national security can never be an afterthought,” she said. “Our commander in chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it. Engage our allies, not alienate them. Defeat our adversaries, not embolden them.”
She added: “When we hear a candidate for president call for rounding up 12 million immigrants, banning all Muslims from entering United States, when he embraces torture, that doesn’t make him strong, it makes him wrong. We should be breaking down barriers, not building walls. We’re not going to succeed by dividing this country between us and them. You know, to be great, we can’t be small.”
Currently, Hillary Clinton has amassed 1,488 of the 2,573 delegates to secure the nomination, while Bernie Sanders has obtained 704. Her huge win on Super-Duper Tuesday has made her lead virtually insurmountable for Sen. Sanders.
As for Republicans, Donald Trump currently has 619 total delegates, while Cruz has 394 and Kasich has 136, with 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Republicans are hoping to stage a contested convention, where no GOP candidate would have enough delegates to grab the nomination, which would be devastating for Donald Trump.
Another good summary DJ. Thank you! My response is in two parts. Re: Hillary's wins last night: I wanted her to do well so I'm very pleased. The fact that she exceeded my expectations is a bit of icing on the cake. But since last night, I've also given her loss in Michigan some more thought. And in light of her solid wins in Ohio and Illinois, here is what I suspect may have happend in Michigan. That loss was a fluke brought about by the following: Many "would be" Hillary voters ASSUMED she had it in the bag. Afterall, just prior to Michigan's primary day the polls indicated she was leading Bernie by at least 20 points. Some people who would have voted for Hillary either opted to stay home and did not vote at all OR they casts their vote for Bernie or perhaps even a Repub (to… Read more »