2016 Primaries: Donald Trump Sweeps, Hillary Clinton Captures 4 States

Donald Trump's crushing, five-state sweep Tuesday makes Indiana's primary the last big breakwall for Republicans trying to block the tidal wave that is Trump.

"I consider myself the presumptive nominee," Trump declared Tuesday, despite being short of the required delegates.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton maintained her lead with a four-state win, but sacrificed Rhode Island to Bernie Sanders, further proof of the self-identified democratic socialist's hold over Independent voters.

With an eye toward the general election, Clinton made the pitch Tuesday for Independents and "thoughtful Republicans" to vote Democrat in the face of GOP division.

Despite falling short of the sweep she aspired to Tuesday, Clinton is well-positioned to be her party's presidential candidate. According to the Associated Press, she has now attained nearly 90 percent of the needed delegates and super delegates to claim the nomination. That leaves Sanders a vanishingly small path forward, although he has vowed to remain in the race.

Meanwhile Trump, running a campaign that has consistently defied predictions that the "next" vote would expose his weaknesses, now looks down the barrel of a make or break primary in Indiana. A win there gifts Trumps the delegates he needs to keep his narrow path to the 1,237 votes it takes to capture the Republican presidential nomination.

The "stop Trump" movement has come to a head in the Hoosier state, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich openly taking a back seat to Ted Cruz, in hopes of handing the Texas senator a victory. Trump has called their agreement "pathetic" and "a faulty deal." Regardless, it raises the stakes. If, even after their deal, Trump bests Cruz in Indiana, it makes his campaign feel almost inevitable against Kasich in the states that follow.

Indiana votes May 3.

--

You can take a state-by-state dive through Tuesday's races below.

• Pennsylvania Primary 2016 Results: Live Updates
• Connecticut Presidential Primary 2016: Voters Take to the Polls
• 2016 Maryland Primary: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton Look for Wins
• Rhode Island Presidential Primary: Polls Open with Long Lines
• Delaware Presidential Primary Results 2016: Polls Open Across the State

--

11:05 p.m.

Sanders released a statement, making clear, "... we are in this race until the last vote is cast. That is why this campaign is going to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia with as many delegates as possible to fight for a progressive party platform."

10:36 p.m.

The Associated Press projected a Connecticut win for Clinton just after 10:30 p.m.

10:15 p.m.

Clinton has taken a majority of the contests so far, with the Associated Press calling wins in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The Connecticut race remains too close to call for the former senator, secretary of state, and first lady.

Trump ran the table: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Maryland all went for the real estate developer and political game-changer. Most of those races were called moments after polls closed.

10:10 p.m.
Trump took the stage just after 10, speaking briefly from Trump Tower in New York City and highlighting his wins across "diverse" state primaries.

“I think this one is maybe the biggest of them all,” he said of Tuesday’s sweep.

Kasich "is like a spoiled person" for staying in the race despite winning only one state, Trump said. He avoided comments on the governor's eating habits Tuesday night, but again hit Kasich and Ted Cruz for a "faulty deal" meant to boost Cruz's chances of winning May 3 in Indiana.

Trump offered a brief speech before taking questions.

9:33 p.m.

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz weighs in:

“Ranting and raving his way to five primary victories tonight, Donald Trump has secured his chokehold on the Republican nomination. For years, GOP leaders have pushed a cynical and feckless political strategy that exploits unfounded fears of immigrants, minorities, the poor, the LGBT community and more, all for political gain. They have sold hardworking Americans the empty promise of trickle-down prosperity, while strangling America’s middle class with backwards economic policies that only enrich those already at the top. Donald Trump’s impending nomination is the ultimate, sad culmination of the success of that strategy. Trump is the modern Republican Party."

Tuesday night's results show Republicans are divided, Wasserman Schultz said, while Democrats are energized and "will emerge united."

9:30 p.m.

"Too many people feel at the mercy of forces too big to control, and they just worry that those of us in politics put our own interests instead of the national interest," Clinton told supporters at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. "Our campaign is about restoring people's confidence in our ability to solve problems together by delivering results that help people follow their dreams."

In an apparent swipe at rival Sanders, Clinton told the crowd, "That is how progress is made. We have to be both dreamers and doers."

She had ammo against Trump, as well, repeating a previous talking point in reply to the Republican frontrunner's reference to her playing the "woman card."

“If fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the ‘woman card,’ then deal me in," she said, smiling widely as the crowd cheered.

9:15 p.m.

As Clinton took the stage in Pennsylvania, the Associated Press called Rhode Island for Bernie Sanders.

9:06 p.m.

The Associated Press has officially called Pennsylvania's contest for Hillary Clinton.

9 p.m.

Bernie Sanders is putting up a fight in Rhode Island, according to early returns that put him 20 points ahead of Hillary Clinton there. Unlike the other states voting Tuesday, Rhode Island's is not a closed primary, meaning Independents can vote day-of for whichever party they choose.

Meanwhile, Maryland polls officially closed after four locations delayed voting by one hour (see previous update). Polls closed or not, the Associated Press projected the state as an early win for frontrunners Clinton and Trump.

8:40 p.m.
The Associated Press has declared Clinton the winner in Delaware. She is expected to speak shortly from Pennsylvania, which CNN is projecting as a win.

8:30 p.m.

The Associated Press projects Donald Trump will win in Rhode Island and Delaware. Hillary Clinton is also projected to win Delaware, according to NBC and other outlets.

8:15 p.m.

Speaking from Huntington, West Virginia, Bernie Sanders spoke to supporters shortly after polls closed on what looks to be a rough night for the senator from Vermont.

Like Ted Cruz in Indiana, Sanders sought to spin the conversation away from his losses Tuesday, calling on West Virginians for support in their upcoming primary.

Sanders made the case Tuesday that his was the superior candidacy come general election time because of his appeal to Independent voters, not just Democrats.

"Those Independents all over the country will be voting in November for the next president of the United States," he told a roaring crowd.

"We are doing something very unusual in American politics. We are telling the truth," he told the crowd.

8:05 p.m.

Immediately after polls closed, the Associated Press said Donald Trump won Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland, and that Hillary Clinton has taken Maryland.

8 p.m.

As polls closed in the east, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was speaking in the Midwest, telling an Indiana rally, "Tonight, this campaign moves back to more favorable terrain."

Meanwhile, the state election board in Maryland has said it will not report election results until all polls close at 9 p.m., holding up at four Baltimore locations cast late ballots (see previous update).

7:30 p.m.

Four polling sites in Baltimore are staying open an hour later on court orders, after failing to open on time Tuesday morning. There were no pens, no "I Voted" stickers and no people to open up the polling places, several citizens reported.

6 p.m.

GOP frontrunner Donald Trump will reportedly spend election night at the TIME 100 Gala in New York City Tuesday, after being named to the magazine's "100 most influential people" list. He will later host an event at at Trump Tower. Looking ahead to the next primary battleground, fellow TIME 100 list-maker Ted Cruz has scheduled a Knightstown, Indiana, rally for 7 p.m. tonight.

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton will be in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, while Sanders looks ahead to West Virginia.

Delegates

In the three-man GOP race, the magic number is 1,237 -- the total delegates frontrunner Donald Trump must win to lock in the party's presidential nomination.

There were 172 delegates up for grabs in Tuesday's Republican primary contests. Based on estimates from CNN, Trump now has 945 delegates in pocket, after winning all of Tuesday's states.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is aiming to cement her lead over rival Bernie Sanders. There were 384 delegates at stake for Democrats in Tuesday's contests. and the Associated Press estimates Clinton now leads Sanders by 731 pledged delegates, including the powerful super delegates aligned with the former secretary of state, senator and first lady.

Although neither Kasich nor Cruz can muster the delegates to match Trump before this summer's GOP convention, racking up extra wins could bolster each man's case, and ensure Trump misses that 1,237 mark.

Going forward, the two will undertake an unprecedented, coordinated attempt to end Trump's march to that mark.

Cruz and Kasich's campaigns announced late Sunday they will be collaborating in several upcoming states, the biggest show of force by the "Never Trump" movement yet. Kasich will pull out of Indiana, in hopes voters there will unite around Cruz for a win against Trump. Cruz, likewise, is ceding New Mexico and Oregon to Kasich.

Sanders has said he's staying in the race regardless of Tuesday's outcome, but Clinton's four-state dominance nearly erases any path he might claim to the nomination. The Sanders campaign will reportedly "reassess" its strategy after Tuesday's contests wrap up.

Meanwhile, Trump has ideas of his own.

Sanders, according to past statements, almost definitely disagrees.