Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump cemented as 2016 leaders
Clinton previewed a "love and kindness" message while Trump traded his typical rollicking rallies for a sober media conference where he pressed his case that Clinton is a proven failure as a longtime politician.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won his home state, Oklahoma and Alaska, buttressing his out-of-the-gate win in the Iowa caucuses a month ago, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio notched his first victory, in Minnesota.
[...] he'd been counting on more appeal in the Southern states and among evangelical Christian voters.
Simple math reinforces a bind for the Republicans who reject Trump, as the brash billionaire businessman carried seven states and continues to barrel toward the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the GOP nomination.
Increasingly, leading Republicans talk of a contested convention in July as their best remaining option for stopping Trump, whose divisive rhetoric about immigrants and ethnic and religious groups has some fearing a GOP wipeout in November.
Clinton held on to older voters and strongly prevailed among Hispanics and African-Americans, according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.
Trump, a political newcomer, pulled in two-thirds of voters looking to install an outsider in the White House, while GOP voters seeking an experienced candidate were split between Rubio and Cruz, both first-term senators.
A moment after Trump professed to have good relationships with his party's elite, he issued a warning to House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had declared earlier Tuesday that "this party does not prey on people's prejudices."